Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC Sells 174,953 Shares of Ambev S.A. $ABEV

Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC decreased its position in shares of Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) by 13.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,142,729 shares of the company’s stock after selling 174,953 shares during the period. Ambev makes up about 0.6% of Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC’s holdings in Ambev were worth $2,823,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Perigon Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ambev by 34.3% during the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,411 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 3,936 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL increased its holdings in shares of Ambev by 3.4% during the third quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 140,579 shares of the company’s stock valued at $313,000 after acquiring an additional 4,557 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Ambev by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 240,887 shares of the company’s stock valued at $595,000 after acquiring an additional 4,700 shares in the last quarter. West Family Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ambev by 10.4% during the third quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 51,819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,000 after acquiring an additional 4,891 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in shares of Ambev by 4.8% during the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 111,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 5,091 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 8.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on ABEV shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ambev from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Ambev from $3.00 to $3.50 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. UBS Group upped their price target on Ambev from $2.65 to $2.90 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Ambev from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $3.09.

Ambev Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of Ambev stock opened at $3.13 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $3.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $2.86. Ambev S.A. has a 12-month low of $2.10 and a 12-month high of $3.45. The company has a market capitalization of $49.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05. The firm had revenue of $4.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.38 billion. Ambev had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 17.69%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ambev S.A. will post 0.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ambev Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 24th will be paid a $0.0092 dividend. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 24th. Ambev’s dividend payout ratio is 57.89%.

Insider Transactions at Ambev

In other Ambev news, insider De Lacerda Eduardo Cavalcanti sold 152,386 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.85, for a total value of $434,300.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 223,340 shares in the company, valued at $636,519. This represents a 40.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

About Ambev

Ambev (NYSE: ABEV) is a Brazilian-based beverage company that produces, distributes and markets a broad portfolio of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. The company’s core business centers on brewing and selling beer, alongside a range of soft drinks, bottled water, energy drinks and other malt-based beverages. Headquartered in São Paulo, Ambev operates an integrated value chain that covers manufacturing, packaging, logistics and commercial sales to retail, on-premise and institutional customers.

The company traces its origins to the 1999 merger of two historic Brazilian breweries, and later became part of the broader global brewing group through subsequent industry consolidations.