231,992 Ambev S.A. $ABEV Shares Bought by RWC Asset Management LLP

RWC Asset Management LLP raised its position in shares of Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) by 2.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,779,739 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 231,992 shares during the quarter. Ambev accounts for about 1.2% of RWC Asset Management LLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. RWC Asset Management LLP owned 0.07% of Ambev worth $31,477,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of ABEV. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA lifted its stake in shares of Ambev by 2.2% in the first quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 173,886 shares of the company’s stock worth $508,000 after buying an additional 3,702 shares in the last quarter. Focused Alpha LLC increased its position in shares of Ambev by 3.6% during the third quarter. Focused Alpha LLC now owns 112,135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $327,000 after acquiring an additional 3,851 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Ambev by 7.1% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 62,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $183,000 after acquiring an additional 4,121 shares in the last quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Ambev by 1.3% during the second quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 349,336 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,097,000 after acquiring an additional 4,437 shares in the last quarter. Finally, United Capital Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Ambev by 26.7% during the second quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 23,467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 4,941 shares in the last quarter. 8.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Manuel Moreira sold 468,040 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.08, for a total transaction of $1,441,563.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,000,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,240,000. This represents a 13.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Carla Smith De Vasconcellos Crippa Prado sold 60,757 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.09, for a total transaction of $187,739.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 80,707 shares in the company, valued at $249,384.63. This trade represents a 42.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Ambev from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. UBS Group set a $2.85 target price on Ambev in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen raised Ambev from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 10th. Scotiabank cut Ambev from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $3.30 price target on shares of Ambev in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $3.13.

Ambev Stock Performance

Shares of ABEV stock traded down $0.03 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $3.31. The company had a trading volume of 25,674,201 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,854,044. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $3.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $3.08. Ambev S.A. has a one year low of $2.18 and a one year high of $3.45. The firm has a market cap of $52.09 billion, a PE ratio of 16.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.02.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04. The firm had revenue of $3.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.05 billion. Ambev had a return on equity of 17.48% and a net margin of 18.47%. Sell-side analysts predict that Ambev S.A. will post 0.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ambev Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 23rd will be given a $0.0092 dividend. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 23rd. Ambev’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.00%.

About Ambev

Ambev SA is a Brazilian beverage company headquartered in São Paulo and one of the largest beverage producers in Latin America. Its principal business is the production, distribution and sale of beer, although it also offers soft drinks, carbonated beverages, bottled water, energy drinks and other non-alcoholic products.

The company’s beer portfolio includes brands such as Brahma, Skol, Antarctica, Bohemia, Original, Budweiser, Stella Artois and Corona, with brand availability varying by market.