Ninety One North America Inc. Sells 898,358 Shares of Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV)

Ninety One North America Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,706,788 shares of the company’s stock after selling 898,358 shares during the quarter. Ambev accounts for approximately 2.1% of Ninety One North America Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Ninety One North America Inc.’s holdings in Ambev were worth $43,979,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its position in shares of Ambev by 117.5% during the first quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 8,233 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 4,448 shares in the last quarter. Perennial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ambev during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Ambev in the third quarter worth $26,000. Ruggaard & Associates LLC purchased a new position in Ambev in the first quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Ambev in the third quarter worth $26,000. 8.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ambev Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of ABEV stock traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $2.25. The company had a trading volume of 6,957,075 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,901,849. The company’s fifty day moving average is $2.50 and its 200 day moving average is $2.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.66. Ambev S.A. has a fifty-two week low of $2.23 and a fifty-two week high of $3.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.44 billion, a PE ratio of 12.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.08.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $4.04 billion for the quarter. Ambev had a net margin of 18.19% and a return on equity of 17.60%. Research analysts expect that Ambev S.A. will post 0.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on ABEV shares. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Ambev in a research note on Friday, January 26th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Ambev in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Barclays downgraded shares of Ambev from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $3.50 to $3.00 in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3.20.

Ambev Company Profile

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.