Legal & General Group Plc Has $6.22 Million Stock Holdings in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV)

Legal & General Group Plc cut its stake in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV - Free Report) by 21.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,352,608 shares of the company's stock after selling 903,304 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc's holdings in Ambev were worth $6,219,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in Ambev by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 84,868 shares of the company's stock valued at $157,000 after acquiring an additional 5,900 shares during the period. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD grew its position in shares of Ambev by 40.4% in the 4th quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 20,810 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 5,993 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR increased its stake in Ambev by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 173,066 shares of the company's stock worth $320,000 after purchasing an additional 6,078 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in Ambev by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 85,142 shares of the company's stock worth $158,000 after buying an additional 6,164 shares during the period. Finally, PDS Planning Inc lifted its stake in Ambev by 18.3% in the fourth quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 41,244 shares of the company's stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 6,374 shares in the last quarter. 8.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABEV has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Ambev in a research report on Wednesday. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Bank of America downgraded Ambev from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Ambev from $2.50 to $2.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley lowered Ambev from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Ambev in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $2.45.

Ambev Stock Up 0.2 %

ABEV traded up $0.01 on Thursday, hitting $2.46. 42,807,964 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 27,968,621. The stock's fifty day moving average is $2.22 and its 200-day moving average is $2.12. Ambev S.A. has a 12 month low of $1.76 and a 12 month high of $2.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.20. The company has a market cap of $38.69 billion, a PE ratio of 13.64, a PEG ratio of 5.80 and a beta of 0.68.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.06 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $4.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.42 billion. Ambev had a return on equity of 16.12% and a net margin of 17.02%. Equities research analysts predict that Ambev S.A. will post 0.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ambev Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a $0.0221 dividend. This represents a $0.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. Ambev's payout ratio is presently 52.94%.

About Ambev

Ambev SA, through its subsidiaries, engages in the production, distribution, and sale of beer, draft beer, carbonated soft drinks, malt and food, other alcoholic beverages, and non-alcoholic and non-carbonated products in Brazil, Central America and Caribbean, Latin America South, and Canada. It offers beer primarily under the Skol, Brahma, Antarctica, Brahva, Budweiser, Bud Light, Beck, Leffe, Hoegaarden, Balboa ICE, Balboa, Atlas Golden Light, Atlas, Bucanero, Cristal, Mayabe, Presidente, Presidente Light, Brahma Light, Bohemia, The One, Corona, Modelo Especial, Stella Artois, Quilmes Clásica, Paceña, Taquiña, Huari, Becker, Cusqueña, Michelob Ultra, Busch, Pilsen, Ouro Fino, Bud 66, Banks, Deputy, Patricia, Labatt Blue, Alexander Keith's, and Kokanee brands.