Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Decreases Stock Holdings in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P reduced its holdings in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,875,266 shares of the company’s stock after selling 456,556 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P owned approximately 0.11% of Ambev worth $33,070,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ABEV. GQG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ambev by 51.9% in the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 196,676,003 shares of the company’s stock valued at $363,851,000 after acquiring an additional 67,180,274 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Ambev by 39.9% during the fourth 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 during the period. Private Management Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 during the last quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 552,220 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Ambev by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,425,374 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,438,000 after purchasing an additional 878,900 shares during the last quarter. 8.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Ambev Stock Performance

ABEV stock opened at $2.31 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $36.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.81, a PEG ratio of 5.80 and a beta of 0.94. Ambev S.A. has a twelve month low of $1.76 and a twelve month high of $2.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $2.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $2.13.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $4.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.42 billion. Ambev had a net margin of 17.02% and a return on equity of 16.12%. Analysts predict that Ambev S.A. will post 0.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Ambev Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.0221 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.83%. Ambev’s payout ratio is 52.94%.

Ambev Company 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.