Simmons Bank Has $358,000 Holdings in The Boston Beer Company, Inc. (NYSE:SAM)

Simmons Bank lowered its position in The Boston Beer Company, Inc. (NYSE:SAM) by 84.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,037 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,845 shares during the period. Simmons Bank’s holdings in Boston Beer were worth $358,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SAM. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Boston Beer by 65.9% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 115,411 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,433,000 after purchasing an additional 45,864 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Boston Beer by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 107,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,086,000 after acquiring an additional 3,382 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Boston Beer by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 70,324 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,393,000 after purchasing an additional 1,315 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Boston Beer by 26.5% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 66,548 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,922,000 after purchasing an additional 13,951 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Boston Beer by 21.0% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 48,969 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,075,000 after purchasing an additional 8,484 shares during the last quarter. 81.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Roth Mkm upped their target price on shares of Boston Beer from $406.00 to $422.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $337.00 target price on shares of Boston Beer in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Boston Beer from $257.00 to $250.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Boston Beer from $350.00 to $315.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Boston Beer from $285.00 to $275.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Boston Beer currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $335.00.

Insider Activity at Boston Beer

In other news, insider Carolyn L. O’boyle sold 101 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.49, for a total transaction of $30,652.49. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,133,231.21. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 24.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Boston Beer Price Performance

Shares of SAM traded up $7.82 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $281.11. 155,407 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 151,439. The Boston Beer Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $264.63 and a 52 week high of $395.52. The company has a market cap of $3.36 billion, a PE ratio of 34.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $292.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $329.19.

Boston Beer (NYSE:SAM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.96. Boston Beer had a net margin of 4.60% and a return on equity of 10.11%. The business had revenue of $426.05 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $414.18 million. On average, analysts anticipate that The Boston Beer Company, Inc. will post 10.26 earnings per share for the current year.

About Boston Beer

The Boston Beer Company, Inc produces and sells alcohol beverages primarily in the United States. The company's flagship beer is Samuel Adams Boston Lager. It offers various beers, hard ciders, flavored malt beverages, and hard seltzers under the Samuel Adams, Twisted Tea, Truly, Angry Orchard, Dogfish Head, Angel City, and Coney Island brand names.