Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) Insider Sells $464,612.50 in Stock

Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) insider Paulo Andre Zagman sold 136,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.41, for a total transaction of $464,612.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 230,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $786,124.35. This trade represents a 37.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Ambev Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ABEV opened at $3.26 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $3.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $2.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. Ambev S.A. has a 52 week low of $2.10 and a 52 week high of $3.45.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05. Ambev had a net margin of 17.69% and a return on equity of 16.63%. The business had revenue of $4.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.38 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Ambev S.A. will post 0.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ambev Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 24th will be issued a $0.0092 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 24th. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Ambev’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on ABEV shares. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Ambev from $3.00 to $3.50 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Ambev from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Ambev from $2.65 to $2.90 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ambev from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $3.09.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ABEV. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Ambev during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Ambev by 62.5% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,399,472 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,591,000 after buying an additional 922,566 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Ambev by 13.2% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,000,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,650,000 after buying an additional 582,153 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new position in Ambev during the first quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Ambev during the first quarter worth about $264,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 8.13% of the company’s stock.

About Ambev

Ambev (NYSE: ABEV) is a Brazilian-based beverage company that produces, distributes and markets a broad portfolio of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. The company’s core business centers on brewing and selling beer, alongside a range of soft drinks, bottled water, energy drinks and other malt-based beverages. Headquartered in São Paulo, Ambev operates an integrated value chain that covers manufacturing, packaging, logistics and commercial sales to retail, on-premise and institutional customers.

The company traces its origins to the 1999 merger of two historic Brazilian breweries, and later became part of the broader global brewing group through subsequent industry consolidations.