Paulo Andre Zagman Sells 136,250 Shares of Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) Stock

Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) insider Paulo Andre Zagman sold 136,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.41, for a total transaction of $464,612.50. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 230,535 shares in the company, valued at $786,124.35. This trade represents a 37.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Ambev Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:ABEV opened at $3.26 on Friday. 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 1.85 and a beta of 0.64. Ambev S.A. has a 1-year low of $2.10 and a 1-year high of $3.45. The company’s fifty day moving average is $3.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $2.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.38 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Ambev S.A. will post 0.21 EPS for the current year.

Ambev Announces Dividend

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. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 24th. Ambev’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ambev

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ABEV. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Ambev by 291.2% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 45,462,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,293,000 after buying an additional 33,842,540 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC grew its position in Ambev by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 172,969,655 shares of the company’s stock valued at $427,235,000 after buying an additional 14,468,963 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Ambev by 248.1% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 13,135,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,445,000 after buying an additional 9,361,815 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its position in Ambev by 74.8% in the 2nd quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 13,409,316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,624,000 after buying an additional 5,740,155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DJE Kapital AG bought a new position in Ambev in the 1st quarter valued at about $14,778,000. 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.