Banco Santander S.A. Cuts Stake in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV)

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

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Ambev by 0.5% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 42,904,893 shares of the company’s stock worth $104,688,000 after acquiring an additional 226,238 shares in the last quarter. Seafarer Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Ambev by 6.3% during the third quarter. Seafarer Capital Partners LLC now owns 30,069,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,368,000 after acquiring an additional 1,770,000 shares in 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 acquiring an additional 5,283,746 shares in the last quarter. Private Management Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Ambev by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 14,512,234 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,848,000 after buying an additional 1,083,882 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RWC Asset Management LLP increased its position in shares of Ambev by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 13,063,556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,168,000 after buying an additional 552,220 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 8.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Ambev Price Performance

ABEV stock opened at $2.24 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $1.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $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 12-month low of $1.76 and a 12-month high of $2.58. The company has a market capitalization of $35.21 billion, a PE ratio of 12.42, a P/E/G ratio of 5.80 and a beta of 0.94.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.06 by ($0.01). Ambev had a return on equity of 16.12% and a net margin of 17.02%. The company had revenue of $4.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.42 billion. On average, sell-side 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.0221 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.95%. Ambev’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.