Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Has $1.58 Million Stake in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) by 19.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 855,733 shares of the company’s stock after selling 212,160 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Ambev were worth $1,583,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Ambev by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 42,904,893 shares of the company’s stock worth $104,688,000 after purchasing an additional 226,238 shares during the last quarter. Seafarer Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Ambev by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Seafarer Capital Partners LLC now owns 30,069,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,368,000 after purchasing an additional 1,770,000 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Ambev by 39.9% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 18,519,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,892,000 after purchasing an additional 5,283,746 shares during the last quarter. Private Management Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Ambev by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 14,512,234 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,848,000 after purchasing an additional 1,083,882 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RWC Asset Management LLP lifted its holdings in Ambev by 4.4% during 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 last quarter. 8.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ambev Price Performance

Ambev stock opened at $2.08 on Tuesday. Ambev S.A. has a one year low of $1.76 and a one year high of $2.58. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $1.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $2.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market cap of $32.77 billion, a PE ratio of 11.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.80 and a beta of 1.04.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.06 by ($0.01). Ambev had a net margin of 17.02% and a return on equity of 16.12%. The business had revenue of $4.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.42 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that Ambev S.A. will post 0.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ambev Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.0221 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.24%. Ambev’s payout ratio is 35.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

About Ambev

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.