Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. Makes New Investment in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV)

Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. bought a new position in shares of Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 221,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $410,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Ambev by 9.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,425,374 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,438,000 after buying an additional 878,900 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in Ambev by 132.9% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 1,976,147 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,822,000 after acquiring an additional 1,127,719 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Ambev by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 54,013 shares of the company's stock valued at $129,000 after acquiring an additional 8,350 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Ambev by 298.1% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 802,016 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,957,000 after buying an additional 600,545 shares during the period. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ambev by 32.0% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,067,893 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,606,000 after buying an additional 258,875 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 8.13% of the company's stock.

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Ambev Stock Up 0.7 %

Ambev stock traded up $0.02 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $2.21. 27,603,754 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 25,202,729. The company's 50-day moving average is $1.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $2.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.20. Ambev S.A. has a 52-week low of $1.76 and a 52-week high of $2.57. The firm has a market cap of $34.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.25, a PEG ratio of 5.80 and a beta of 0.94.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts' expectations of $22.42 billion. On average, analysts predict that Ambev S.A. will post 0.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Ambev Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.0221 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.00%. Ambev's dividend payout ratio is currently 52.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.