Schroder Investment Management Group Acquires 2,454,195 Shares of Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV)

Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its holdings in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) by 72.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,851,890 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,454,195 shares during the quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group’s holdings in Ambev were worth $10,826,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of Ambev by 1,641.9% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 19,001,985 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,154,000 after acquiring an additional 17,911,122 shares during the last quarter. Kiltearn Partners LLP raised its position in Ambev by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Kiltearn Partners LLP now owns 12,758,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,603,000 after purchasing an additional 577,800 shares during the last quarter. Sava Infond d.o.o. acquired a new position in Ambev during the 4th quarter worth $536,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Ambev by 2,385.2% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,005,614 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,710,000 after buying an additional 1,924,912 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summitry LLC increased its stake in shares of Ambev by 22.7% in the 4th quarter. Summitry LLC now owns 67,808 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,000 after buying an additional 12,556 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 8.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Ambev Price Performance

Ambev stock opened at $2.41 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.36, a PEG ratio of 5.80 and a beta of 0.68. The business has a 50-day moving average of $2.07 and a 200-day moving average of $2.13. 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 results 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). The firm had revenue of $4.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.42 billion. Ambev had a net margin of 17.02% and a return on equity of 16.12%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ambev S.A. will post 0.18 EPS for the current year.

Ambev Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a $0.0221 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.67%. Ambev’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.