Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Has $228,000 Stock Position in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. trimmed its position in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) by 42.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 123,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 89,000 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Ambev were worth $228,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Roberts Glore & Co. Inc. IL increased its position in Ambev by 28.4% in the fourth quarter. Roberts Glore & Co. Inc. IL now owns 34,480 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 7,635 shares during the period. Naviter Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Ambev in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. acquired a new stake in Ambev in the fourth quarter worth $410,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich acquired a new stake in Ambev in the fourth quarter worth $71,000. Finally, Callan Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in Ambev in the fourth quarter worth $279,000. 8.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABEV has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. 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. Bank of America lowered shares of Ambev from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Ambev in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Ambev in a report on Monday, January 27th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ambev has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $2.45.

Ambev Stock Performance

Shares of ABEV opened at $2.31 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $1.93 and a 200-day moving average of $2.12. Ambev S.A. has a one year low of $1.76 and a one year high of $2.56. The company has a market cap of $36.31 billion, a PE ratio of 12.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.80 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

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

Ambev Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a $0.0221 dividend. This represents a $0.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Ambev’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.94%.

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.