Benjamin Edwards Inc. Acquires 1,327 Shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (NYSE:BUD)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (NYSE:BUD) by 18.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,506 shares of the consumer goods maker’s stock after buying an additional 1,327 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV were worth $426,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dodge & Cox boosted its position in shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV by 27.7% in the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 39,996,830 shares of the consumer goods maker’s stock worth $2,002,641,000 after purchasing an additional 8,670,940 shares during the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership bought a new position in Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV during the fourth quarter worth about $56,849,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV during the 4th quarter worth about $37,311,000. Alberta Investment Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,540,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 7,569,492 shares of the consumer goods maker’s stock valued at $379,004,000 after acquiring an additional 505,206 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 5.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BUD. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Argus upgraded shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Berenberg Bank initiated coverage on Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $66.00.

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV Stock Performance

Shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV stock opened at $67.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market cap of $120.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.83. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $63.33 and its 200-day moving average is $56.67. Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV has a one year low of $45.94 and a one year high of $67.55.

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (NYSE:BUD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The consumer goods maker reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.04. Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV had a return on equity of 15.29% and a net margin of 10.98%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.75 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV will post 3.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be paid a $1.0492 dividend. This is a positive change from Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV’s previous annual dividend of $0.87. This represents a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 7th. Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV’s payout ratio is presently 22.32%.

About Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV produces, distributes, exports, markets, and sells beer and beverages. It offers a portfolio of approximately 500 beer brands, which primarily include Budweiser, Corona, and Stella Artois; Beck's, Hoegaarden, Leffe, and Michelob Ultra; and Aguila, Antarctica, Bud Light, Brahma, Cass, Castle, Castle Lite, Cristal, Harbin, Jupiler, Modelo Especial, Quilmes, Victoria, Sedrin, and Skol brands.