Dodge & Cox Invests $381,000 in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV)

Dodge & Cox bought a new stake in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 206,200 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $381,000.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ABEV. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Ambev from $2.50 to $2.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Ambev in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. StockNews.com began coverage on Ambev in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Bank of America downgraded Ambev from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Ambev from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ambev presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $2.45.

Ambev Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Ambev stock traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $2.41. The company had a trading volume of 11,642,873 shares, compared to its average volume of 27,450,196. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company's 50-day moving average is $2.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $2.11. The company has a market cap of $37.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.80 and a beta of 0.68. Ambev S.A. has a twelve month low of $1.76 and a twelve month high of $2.56.

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

Ambev Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a $0.0221 dividend. This represents a $0.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. Ambev's payout ratio is currently 52.94%.

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.