New York State Common Retirement Fund Lowers Stake in The Boston Beer Company, Inc. (NYSE:SAM)

New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its position in shares of The Boston Beer Company, Inc. (NYSE:SAM) by 12.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,404 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,096 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.06% of Boston Beer worth $2,559,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Boston Beer by 65.9% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 115,411 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,433,000 after purchasing an additional 45,864 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Boston Beer by 1,337.9% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 32,727 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,748,000 after acquiring an additional 30,451 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Boston Beer in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $10,275,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Boston Beer in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $64,490,000. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Boston Beer during the third quarter valued at approximately $6,627,000. 81.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Carolyn L. O’boyle sold 101 shares of Boston Beer stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.49, for a total transaction of $30,652.49. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,133,231.21. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 24.00% of the company’s stock.

Boston Beer Trading Up 1.9 %

SAM opened at $273.31 on Wednesday. The Boston Beer Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $264.63 and a twelve month high of $395.52. The stock has a market cap of $3.27 billion, a PE ratio of 34.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.03. The business’s 50 day moving average is $292.83 and its 200-day moving average is $329.19.

Boston Beer (NYSE:SAM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.96. The firm had revenue of $426.05 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $414.18 million. Boston Beer had a net margin of 4.60% and a return on equity of 10.11%. As a group, analysts forecast that The Boston Beer Company, Inc. will post 10.26 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SAM. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Boston Beer from $257.00 to $250.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Boston Beer from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Boston Beer from $390.00 to $355.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Roth Mkm raised their price target on shares of Boston Beer from $406.00 to $422.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $337.00 price target on shares of Boston Beer in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $335.21.

Boston Beer Profile

The Boston Beer Company, Inc produces and sells alcohol beverages primarily in the United States. The company's flagship beer is Samuel Adams Boston Lager. It offers various beers, hard ciders, flavored malt beverages, and hard seltzers under the Samuel Adams, Twisted Tea, Truly, Angry Orchard, Dogfish Head, Angel City, and Coney Island brand names.