231,992 Ambev S.A. $ABEV Shares Purchased by RWC Asset Management LLP

RWC Asset Management LLP lifted its stake in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,779,739 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 231,992 shares during the period. Ambev accounts for approximately 1.2% of RWC Asset Management LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. RWC Asset Management LLP’s holdings in Ambev were worth $31,477,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ABEV. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Ambev by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 349,323,217 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,096,875,000 after purchasing an additional 2,338,660 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Ambev by 6.5% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 27,354,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,875,000 after purchasing an additional 1,674,900 shares during the period. Formuepleje A S bought a new stake in Ambev during the third quarter valued at about $23,610,000. DJE Kapital AG purchased a new stake in Ambev in the first quarter worth about $14,778,000. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its position in Ambev by 6.7% in the first quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 4,717,328 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,775,000 after buying an additional 295,709 shares in the last quarter. 8.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ambev Price Performance

Shares of ABEV traded down $0.03 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $3.31. 25,674,201 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 22,854,044. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. Ambev S.A. has a 52-week low of $2.18 and a 52-week high of $3.45. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $3.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3.08. The company has a market cap of $52.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.58.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.04. Ambev had a net margin of 18.47% and a return on equity of 17.48%. The company had revenue of $3.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.05 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Ambev S.A. will post 0.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Ambev Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.0092 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 23rd. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Ambev’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Manuel Moreira sold 468,040 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.08, for a total value of $1,441,563.20. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,000,000 shares in the company, valued at $9,240,000. The trade was a 13.50% 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 hyperlink. Also, insider Carla Smith De Vasconcellos Crippa Prado sold 60,757 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.09, for a total value of $187,739.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 80,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $249,384.63. This trade represents a 42.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on ABEV. Scotiabank downgraded Ambev from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ambev from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 10th. UBS Group set a $2.85 price objective on Ambev in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $3.30 target price on shares of Ambev in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Ambev from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $3.13.

Ambev Company Profile

Ambev SA is a Brazilian beverage company headquartered in São Paulo and one of the largest beverage producers in Latin America. Its principal business is the production, distribution and sale of beer, although it also offers soft drinks, carbonated beverages, bottled water, energy drinks and other non-alcoholic products.

The company’s beer portfolio includes brands such as Brahma, Skol, Antarctica, Bohemia, Original, Budweiser, Stella Artois and Corona, with brand availability varying by market.