Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Lowers Position in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV)

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. trimmed its stake in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 61,504,789 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,373,584 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned about 0.39% of Ambev worth $172,213,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Baron Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Ambev by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,000 after buying an additional 3,963 shares in the last quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. lifted its position in Ambev by 49.9% during the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 12,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 4,238 shares in the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group lifted its position in Ambev by 37.2% during the third quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 16,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 4,348 shares in the last quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. lifted its position in Ambev by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 1,393,397 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,902,000 after buying an additional 4,509 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Ambev by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 34,701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,000 after buying an additional 4,763 shares in the last quarter. 8.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ambev Stock Up 1.9 %

ABEV traded up $0.04 during trading on Friday, hitting $2.11. The company had a trading volume of 20,650,454 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,771,268. The company has a market cap of $33.24 billion, a PE ratio of 11.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a 50-day moving average of $2.30 and a 200-day moving average of $2.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.69. Ambev S.A. has a 1-year low of $2.05 and a 1-year high of $3.23.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.05. Ambev had a net margin of 18.25% and a return on equity of 17.53%. The firm had revenue of $4.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that Ambev S.A. will post 0.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on ABEV. StockNews.com raised shares of Ambev from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Ambev in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Ambev from $3.00 to $2.50 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $2.68.

About Ambev

Ambev SA, through its subsidiaries, engages in the production, distribution, and sale of beer, draft beer, carbonated soft drinks, other non-alcoholic beverages, malt, and food products. It offers beer primarily under the Skol, Brahma, Antarctica, Brahva, Budweiser, Bud Light, Beck, Leffe and Hoegaarden, 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, Banks, Deputy, Patricia, Labatt Blue, Alexander Keith's, and Kokanee brands.