Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) Shares Purchased by GQG Partners LLC

GQG Partners LLC boosted its stake in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) by 51.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 196,676,003 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 67,180,274 shares during the quarter. GQG Partners LLC owned approximately 1.25% of Ambev worth $363,851,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ambev in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $277,000. LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in Ambev by 36.8% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 808,204 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,495,000 after purchasing an additional 217,527 shares during the last quarter. Heron Bay Capital Management lifted its holdings in Ambev by 252.0% in the 4th quarter. Heron Bay Capital Management now owns 67,463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,000 after purchasing an additional 48,296 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Ambev by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,232,357 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,130,000 after purchasing an additional 135,132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HUB Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in Ambev by 74.7% during the 4th quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 40,204 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 17,188 shares during the last quarter. 8.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Ambev Price Performance

Ambev stock opened at $2.30 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $1.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $2.12. Ambev S.A. has a 12-month low of $1.76 and a 12-month high of $2.56. The stock has a market cap of $36.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.75, a PEG ratio of 5.80 and a beta of 0.94.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $4.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.42 billion. Ambev had a return on equity of 16.12% and a net margin of 17.02%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ambev S.A. will post 0.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Ambev Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given 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 3.84%. Ambev’s dividend 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.