Centre Asset Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in The Boston Beer Company, Inc. (NYSE:SAM)

Centre Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Boston Beer Company, Inc. (NYSE:SAM - Free Report) by 10.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 25,897 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,549 shares during the quarter. Boston Beer accounts for about 1.9% of Centre Asset Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Centre Asset Management LLC owned about 0.22% of Boston Beer worth $7,884,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Napatree Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Boston Beer during the fourth quarter worth about $500,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Boston Beer by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 918,502 shares of the company's stock worth $317,425,000 after buying an additional 21,060 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Boston Beer during the fourth quarter worth about $628,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its holdings in shares of Boston Beer by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 6,894 shares of the company's stock worth $2,382,000 after buying an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Trust bought a new position in shares of Boston Beer during the fourth quarter worth about $255,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on SAM. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Boston Beer from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $335.00 to $360.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Boston Beer from $350.00 to $315.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Boston Beer from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $273.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Boston Beer from $257.00 to $250.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on Boston Beer from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Boston Beer currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $335.00.

Boston Beer Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE SAM traded up $5.03 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $295.95. 112,372 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 182,019. The Boston Beer Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $254.40 and a 12 month high of $395.52. The company's 50 day moving average price is $282.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $316.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.54 billion, a PE ratio of 37.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.09.

Boston Beer (NYSE:SAM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.96. The business had revenue of $426.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $414.18 million. Boston Beer had a return on equity of 10.11% and a net margin of 4.60%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Boston Beer Company, Inc. will post 10.25 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Carolyn L. O'boyle sold 101 shares of Boston Beer stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.49, for a total transaction of $30,652.49. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,029 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,133,231.21. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 24.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Boston Beer Profile

The Boston Beer Company, Inc produces and sells alcohol beverages primarily in the United States. The company's flagship beer is Samuel Adams Boston Lager. It offers various beers, hard ciders, flavored malt beverages, and hard seltzers under the Samuel Adams, Twisted Tea, Truly, Angry Orchard, Dogfish Head, Angel City, and Coney Island brand names.