Investors Buy High Volume of Call Options on Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (NYSE:BUD)

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (NYSE:BUD) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Investors acquired 14,014 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 141% compared to the typical volume of 5,827 call options.

Institutional Trading of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. First Personal Financial Services grew its holdings in Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV by 51.3% in the 3rd quarter. First Personal Financial Services now owns 605 shares of the consumer goods maker’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the period. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV by 2,722.7% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 621 shares of the consumer goods maker’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 599 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 5.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, TD Cowen dropped their price target on Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV from $65.00 to $55.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $64.00.

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV Trading Up 1.4 %

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV stock opened at $59.57 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $107.06 billion, a PE ratio of 18.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $50.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.79. Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV has a 52 week low of $45.94 and a 52 week high of $67.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (NYSE:BUD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The consumer goods maker reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $14.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.07 billion. Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV had a return on equity of 15.29% and a net margin of 10.98%. Equities research analysts predict that Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV will post 3.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.