Virtus Family Office LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Ambev S.A. $ABEV

Virtus Family Office LLC increased its position in shares of Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) by 32.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 763,375 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 187,364 shares during the period. Ambev accounts for approximately 1.6% of Virtus Family Office LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Virtus Family Office LLC’s holdings in Ambev were worth $1,718,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ambev in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Bensler LLC acquired a new position in Ambev in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Ambev by 2,224.1% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 11,721 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new stake in Ambev during the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ambev during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. 8.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABEV has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ambev in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $2.88 target price on shares of Ambev in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $2.53.

Ambev Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ABEV traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $2.91. 689,862 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 25,103,070. Ambev S.A. has a fifty-two week low of $1.82 and a fifty-two week high of $2.94. The firm has a market cap of $45.78 billion, a PE ratio of 16.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.65. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $2.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $2.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Ambev Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a special dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 9th. Investors of record on Monday, December 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.049 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 22nd. This represents a yield of 1,465.0%. Ambev’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 183.33%.

Ambev Profile

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.