CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Buys 7,862,672 Shares of Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its stake in shares of Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV - Free Report) by 101.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,639,612 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,862,672 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned 0.10% of Ambev worth $29,512,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. GQG Partners LLC raised its position in Ambev by 51.9% in the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 196,676,003 shares of the company's stock worth $363,851,000 after purchasing an additional 67,180,274 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Ambev by 1,641.9% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 19,001,985 shares of the company's stock worth $35,154,000 after buying an additional 17,911,122 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ambev by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 18,614,210 shares of the company's stock worth $34,436,000 after acquiring an additional 880,763 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Ambev by 39.9% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 18,519,980 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,892,000 after acquiring an additional 5,283,746 shares during the period. Finally, Private Management Group Inc. grew its position in Ambev by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 14,512,234 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,848,000 after acquiring an additional 1,083,882 shares during the last quarter. 8.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ambev Trading Up 3.2 %

NYSE:ABEV opened at $2.41 on Friday. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $2.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $2.12. Ambev S.A. has a one year low of $1.76 and a one year high of $2.56. The firm has a market cap of $37.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.36, a P/E/G ratio of 5.80 and a beta of 0.68.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.06 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $4.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.42 billion. Ambev had a return on equity of 16.12% and a net margin of 17.02%. Equities analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a dividend of $0.0221 per share. This represents a $0.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. Ambev's payout ratio is currently 52.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ABEV. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Ambev in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Ambev in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Bank of America downgraded shares of Ambev from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley cut Ambev from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Ambev from $2.50 to $2.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $2.45.

Ambev Company Profile

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.

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