FIL Ltd Invests $13.41 Million in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV)

FIL Ltd bought a new position in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 7,250,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,412,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ABEV. Insight Inv LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ambev during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Naviter Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ambev in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ambev during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Angeles Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ambev during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Rehmann Capital Advisory Group acquired a new stake in shares of Ambev in the third quarter valued at approximately $48,000. 8.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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Ambev Price Performance

ABEV traded up $0.06 on Thursday, reaching $2.39. The stock had a trading volume of 16,855,393 shares, compared to its average volume of 27,151,481. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $2.17 and a 200-day moving average of $2.12. Ambev S.A. has a fifty-two week low of $1.76 and a fifty-two week high of $2.56. The company has a market capitalization of $37.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.80 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.06 by ($0.01). Ambev had a return on equity of 16.12% and a net margin of 17.02%. The business had revenue of $4.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.42 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ambev S.A. will post 0.18 EPS for the current 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 issued a $0.0221 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.70%. Ambev's payout ratio is 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.