Insider Selling: Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) Insider Sells $187,739.13 in Stock

Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) insider Prado Carla Smith De Va Crippa sold 60,757 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.09, for a total value of $187,739.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 80,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $249,384.63. This trade represents a 42.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Ambev Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of ABEV stock traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $3.19. 33,506,011 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 26,585,883. The firm has a market cap of $50.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.58. Ambev S.A. has a fifty-two week low of $2.10 and a fifty-two week high of $3.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.02. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $2.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3.05.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04. The company had revenue of $3.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.05 billion. Ambev had a net margin of 18.47% and a return on equity of 17.48%. Equities analysts anticipate that Ambev S.A. will post 0.2 EPS for the current year.

Ambev Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 23rd will be paid a $0.0092 dividend. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 23rd. Ambev’s payout ratio is 15.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ambev

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ABEV. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Ambev by 18.1% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,700,035 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,804,000 after acquiring an additional 566,949 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Ambev by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 349,323,217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,096,875,000 after purchasing an additional 2,338,660 shares during the last quarter. Cook & Bynum Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Ambev during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,251,588. Engineers Gate Manager LP increased its holdings in Ambev by 712.8% during the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 1,837,660 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,770,000 after purchasing an additional 1,611,577 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ARGA Investment Management LP raised its stake in shares of Ambev by 62.0% in the first quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 967,134 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,824,000 after purchasing an additional 370,112 shares during the last quarter. 8.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Ambev in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $3.30 price target on shares of Ambev in a research note on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen lowered Ambev from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 22nd. Scotiabank cut Ambev from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, UBS Group set a $2.85 price objective on Ambev in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $3.13.

Ambev Company Profile

Ambev SA is a Brazilian beverage company and one of the largest brewers in Latin America. The company produces, distributes and sells beer, carbonated soft drinks, nonalcoholic beverages and other drink products through a portfolio that includes brands such as Brahma, Skol, Antarctica, Bohemia, Budweiser, Stella Artois and Guaraná Antarctica.

Founded in 1999 through the merger of Companhia Antarctica Paulista and Companhia Cervejaria Brahma, Ambev became part of Anheuser-Busch InBev following the latter’s combination with Anheuser-Busch in 2008.