Fisher Asset Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV)

Fisher Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV - Free Report) by 14.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,819,628 shares of the company's stock after selling 827,596 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC's holdings in Ambev were worth $8,916,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sage Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new stake in Ambev during the fourth quarter valued at about $204,000. Motco lifted its holdings in Ambev by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. Motco now owns 255,971 shares of the company's stock valued at $474,000 after purchasing an additional 28,900 shares during the last quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Ambev by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 3,583,267 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,629,000 after purchasing an additional 46,233 shares during the last quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Ambev by 24.6% during the fourth quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 70,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $130,000 after purchasing an additional 13,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CORDA Investment Management LLC. purchased a new stake in Ambev during the fourth quarter valued at about $11,987,000. Institutional investors own 8.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on ABEV. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Ambev from $2.50 to $2.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Bank of America downgraded shares of Ambev from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Ambev in a report on Monday, January 27th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Ambev in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $2.45.

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Ambev Price Performance

Shares of ABEV stock traded up $0.03 during trading on Friday, hitting $2.24. The company had a trading volume of 21,843,102 shares, compared to its average volume of 37,262,559. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The stock's 50-day moving average is $1.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $2.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.80 and a beta of 0.94. Ambev S.A. has a 52 week low of $1.76 and a 52 week high of $2.58.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 16.12% and a net margin of 17.02%. The firm had revenue of $4.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.42 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Ambev S.A. will post 0.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ambev Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.0221 dividend. This represents a $0.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Ambev's payout ratio is 52.94%.

Ambev 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.