Verus Capital Partners LLC Acquires 13,800 Shares of Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV)

Verus Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) by 24.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 70,000 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 13,800 shares during the period. Verus Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Ambev were worth $130,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. CORDA Investment Management LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Ambev in the 4th quarter worth $11,987,000. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of Ambev by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 84,868 shares of the company’s stock worth $157,000 after acquiring an additional 5,900 shares in the last quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP grew its stake in shares of Ambev by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 13,063,556 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,168,000 after acquiring an additional 552,220 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of Ambev by 37.8% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 1,085,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,008,000 after acquiring an additional 298,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ambev by 185.5% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 34,678 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 22,531 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 8.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Ambev in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays cut their price target 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. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Ambev in a report on Monday, January 27th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of Ambev from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $2.45.

Ambev Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABEV opened at $2.07 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $1.86 and its 200 day moving average is $2.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.20. The company has a market capitalization of $32.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.80 and a beta of 1.04. Ambev S.A. has a fifty-two week low of $1.76 and a fifty-two week high of $2.58.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.06 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $4.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.42 billion. Ambev had a net margin of 17.02% and a return on equity of 16.12%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ambev S.A. will post 0.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Ambev Cuts Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.0221 per share. This represents a $0.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.27%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Ambev’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.29%.

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.