Banco Santander S.A. Decreases Stock Position in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV)

Banco Santander S.A. reduced its stake in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) by 14.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 878,799 shares of the company’s stock after selling 148,875 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Ambev were worth $1,626,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CORDA Investment Management LLC. bought a new stake in Ambev during the fourth quarter valued at $11,987,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ambev by 39.9% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 18,519,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,892,000 after buying an additional 5,283,746 shares during the period. Altrius Capital Management Inc purchased a new position in Ambev during the 3rd quarter valued at about $8,630,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Ambev during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,523,000. Finally, Meritage Portfolio Management purchased a new position in Ambev during the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,645,000. 8.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on ABEV. Barclays reduced their target price on Ambev from $2.50 to $2.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Bank of America cut Ambev from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com began coverage on Ambev in a research report on Monday, January 27th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Ambev in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $2.45.

Ambev Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:ABEV opened at $2.24 on Monday. Ambev S.A. has a 12 month low of $1.76 and a 12 month high of $2.58. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $1.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $2.13. The company has a market cap of $35.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.42, a PEG ratio of 5.80 and a beta of 0.94. 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 (NYSE:ABEV) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities research analysts predict 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 paid 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 3.95%. Ambev’s payout ratio is 52.94%.

Ambev 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.