OceanIQ Capital LLC Acquires New Stake in Ambev S.A. $ABEV

OceanIQ Capital LLC bought a new position in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 207,320 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $651,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in Ambev in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Ambev by 62.5% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,399,472 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,591,000 after purchasing an additional 922,566 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Ambev by 13.2% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,000,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,650,000 after purchasing an additional 582,153 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new position in Ambev in the first quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Ambev in the first quarter worth about $264,000. 8.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABEV has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Scotiabank cut shares of Ambev from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Ambev in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ambev from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 22nd. Finally, UBS Group set a $2.85 price target on Ambev in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned 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 $3.08.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Manuel Moreira sold 468,040 shares of Ambev stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.08, for a total value of $1,441,563.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,000,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,240,000. The trade was a 13.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Ambev Stock Down 0.3%

ABEV opened at $3.03 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $3.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $3.05. Ambev S.A. has a twelve month low of $2.10 and a twelve month high of $3.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.15, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.64.

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

Ambev Announces Dividend

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

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.