Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) Shares Purchased by Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp

Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp raised its holdings in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) by 20.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 62,818 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 10,474 shares during the quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp’s holdings in Ambev were worth $117,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GQG Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ambev by 51.9% during the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 196,676,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $363,851,000 after purchasing an additional 67,180,274 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of Ambev by 1,641.9% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 19,001,985 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,154,000 after purchasing an additional 17,911,122 shares in the last quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ambev by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 18,614,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,436,000 after purchasing an additional 880,763 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Ambev by 39.9% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 18,519,980 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,892,000 after purchasing an additional 5,283,746 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Management Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Ambev by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 14,512,234 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,848,000 after purchasing an additional 1,083,882 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 8.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABEV has been the topic of several research reports. Bank of America lowered Ambev from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Ambev in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley cut Ambev from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Ambev in a report on Monday, January 27th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Ambev from $2.50 to $2.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $2.45.

Ambev Stock Up 7.0 %

Shares of Ambev stock opened at $2.30 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $2.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $2.12. The company has a market cap of $36.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.78, a P/E/G 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 S.A. has a 1 year low of $1.76 and a 1 year high of $2.56.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $4.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.42 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Ambev S.A. will post 0.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ambev Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.0221 per share. This represents a $0.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.84%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Ambev’s dividend payout ratio is 52.94%.

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.