Sei Investments Co. Sells 7,507,336 Shares of Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV)

Sei Investments Co. decreased its stake in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) by 66.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,737,317 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,507,336 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Ambev were worth $6,914,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Ambev by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,425,374 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,438,000 after purchasing an additional 878,900 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in Ambev by 132.9% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 1,976,147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,822,000 after purchasing an additional 1,127,719 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in Ambev by 18.3% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 54,013 shares of the company’s stock valued at $129,000 after buying an additional 8,350 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in Ambev by 298.1% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 802,016 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,957,000 after buying an additional 600,545 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Management Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ambev by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 14,512,234 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,848,000 after buying an additional 1,083,882 shares in the last quarter. 8.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ambev Stock Performance

ABEV stock opened at $2.33 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $2.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $2.12. Ambev S.A. has a fifty-two week low of $1.76 and a fifty-two week high of $2.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.63 billion, a PE ratio of 12.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.80 and a beta of 0.94.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.06 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $4.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.42 billion. Ambev had a net margin of 17.02% and a return on equity of 16.12%. Analysts forecast that Ambev S.A. will post 0.18 EPS for the current year.

Ambev Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.0221 dividend. This represents a $0.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Ambev’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on ABEV shares. StockNews.com began coverage on Ambev in a report on Monday, January 27th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Barclays reduced their price objective on Ambev from $2.50 to $2.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Bank of America lowered Ambev from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Ambev in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $2.45.

Ambev Company Profile

Ambev SA, through its subsidiaries, engages in the production, distribution, and sale of beer, draft beer, carbonated soft drinks, malt and food, other alcoholic beverages, and non-alcoholic and non-carbonated products in Brazil, Central America and Caribbean, Latin America South, and Canada. It offers beer primarily under the Skol, Brahma, Antarctica, Brahva, Budweiser, Bud Light, Beck, Leffe, Hoegaarden, Balboa ICE, Balboa, Atlas Golden Light, Atlas, 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, Bud 66, Banks, Deputy, Patricia, Labatt Blue, Alexander Keith’s, and Kokanee brands.