First Trust Advisors LP Acquires New Position in Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (NYSE:BUD)

First Trust Advisors LP purchased a new stake in Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (NYSE:BUD) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 11,674 shares of the consumer goods maker’s stock, valued at approximately $585,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its position in Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV by 144.8% in the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 8,326 shares of the consumer goods maker’s stock valued at $417,000 after buying an additional 4,925 shares in the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 10,689 shares of the consumer goods maker’s stock valued at $535,000 after acquiring an additional 712 shares in the last quarter. Balanced Rock Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Balanced Rock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,560 shares of the consumer goods maker’s stock worth $429,000 after acquiring an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. Commerce Bank raised its position in Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 6,350 shares of the consumer goods maker’s stock valued at $318,000 after purchasing an additional 611 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 2,594,619 shares of the consumer goods maker’s stock worth $129,201,000 after purchasing an additional 134,243 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 5.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Berenberg Bank started coverage on shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.00.

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV Trading Up 0.4 %

BUD opened at $67.30 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $120.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $63.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $56.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV has a 1-year low of $45.94 and a 1-year high of $67.55.

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (NYSE:BUD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The consumer goods maker reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.04. Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV had a return on equity of 15.29% and a net margin of 10.98%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.75 EPS. Analysts predict that Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV will post 3.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.0492 per share. This represents a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 7th. This is a positive change from Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV’s previous annual dividend of $0.87. Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV’s payout ratio is 26.46%.

About Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV produces, distributes, exports, markets, and sells beer and beverages. It offers a portfolio of approximately 500 beer brands, which primarily include Budweiser, Corona, and Stella Artois; Beck's, Hoegaarden, Leffe, and Michelob Ultra; and Aguila, Antarctica, Bud Light, Brahma, Cass, Castle, Castle Lite, Cristal, Harbin, Jupiler, Modelo Especial, Quilmes, Victoria, Sedrin, and Skol brands.