Private Management Group Inc. Buys 1,083,882 Shares of Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV)

Private Management Group Inc. lifted its position in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) by 8.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,512,234 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,083,882 shares during the period. Private Management Group Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of Ambev worth $26,848,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ABEV. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of Ambev by 10.5% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 259,335 shares of the company’s stock worth $532,000 after purchasing an additional 24,678 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in Ambev by 7.1% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 122,485 shares of the company’s stock worth $251,000 after acquiring an additional 8,106 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Ambev by 53.3% during the second quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 56,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,000 after acquiring an additional 19,496 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ambev in the second quarter valued at about $225,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ambev by 546.9% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 69,383 shares of the company’s stock worth $169,000 after acquiring an additional 58,657 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 8.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on ABEV. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Ambev from $2.50 to $2.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Ambev in a research report on Monday, January 27th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Bank of America lowered shares of Ambev from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Ambev in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $2.45.

Ambev Price Performance

Shares of ABEV opened at $1.84 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $1.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2.17. Ambev S.A. has a 1-year low of $1.76 and a 1-year high of $2.72. The company has a market cap of $28.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.19, a PEG ratio of 5.59 and a beta of 1.04.

Ambev Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.0414 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 23rd. This represents a dividend yield of 1.93%. Ambev’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.89%.

Ambev Profile

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.