Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Sells 456,556 Shares of Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P cut its stake in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 17,875,266 shares of the company’s stock after selling 456,556 shares during the quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in Ambev were worth $33,070,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in Ambev by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 84,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $157,000 after purchasing an additional 5,900 shares during the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD boosted its holdings in shares of Ambev by 40.4% in the 4th quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 20,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 5,993 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR grew its position in shares of Ambev by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 173,066 shares of the company’s stock worth $320,000 after buying an additional 6,078 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of Ambev by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 85,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $158,000 after acquiring an additional 6,164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PDS Planning Inc lifted its position in Ambev by 18.3% during the fourth quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 41,244 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 6,374 shares during the last quarter. 8.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ambev Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE ABEV opened at $2.31 on Friday. Ambev S.A. has a 12-month low of $1.76 and a 12-month high of $2.56. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $2.02 and a two-hundred day simple 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. The stock has a market cap of $36.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.81, a P/E/G ratio of 5.80 and a beta of 0.94.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $4.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.42 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Ambev S.A. will post 0.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Ambev Cuts Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.