Legal & General Group Plc Acquires 6,469 Shares of Constellation Brands Inc $STZ

Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands Inc (NYSE:STZ) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 782,648 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,469 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $107,974,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of STZ. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Constellation Brands by 650.6% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,769,741 shares of the company’s stock worth $287,889,000 after purchasing an additional 1,533,961 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Constellation Brands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $81,381,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Constellation Brands by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,202,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,451,346,000 after purchasing an additional 573,766 shares in the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC increased its stake in Constellation Brands by 1,249.7% during the 2nd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 476,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,550,000 after purchasing an additional 441,382 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Constellation Brands by 26.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 1,664,151 shares of the company’s stock worth $224,111,000 after purchasing an additional 351,241 shares in the last quarter. 77.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on STZ. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on Constellation Brands from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Evercore set a $175.00 target price on Constellation Brands and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Barclays increased their target price on Constellation Brands from $151.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Constellation Brands from $154.00 to $152.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen raised Constellation Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $142.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Monday, April 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.26.

Constellation Brands Trading Down 1.0%

NYSE:STZ opened at $142.34 on Friday. Constellation Brands Inc has a twelve month low of $126.45 and a twelve month high of $180.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $152.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $149.21. The company has a market cap of $24.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.43.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 8th. The company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. Constellation Brands had a return on equity of 26.18% and a net margin of 17.29%.The business’s revenue was down 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.63 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Constellation Brands Inc will post 11.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Constellation Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 29th were issued a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 29th. This is a boost from Constellation Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Constellation Brands’s payout ratio is currently 42.96%.

Insider Activity at Constellation Brands

In other news, EVP James O. Bourdeau sold 4,407 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.24, for a total value of $631,258.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 9,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,304,773.16. This represents a 32.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 12.45% of the company’s stock.

Constellation Brands Company Profile

Constellation Brands, Inc is a leading producer and marketer of beer, wine and spirits, with operations spanning production, importation, marketing and distribution. The company’s beverage portfolio includes a range of premium and mainstream wines and spirits alongside major imported beer brands; in the U.S. market Constellation is widely known for its role in bringing Mexican imports such as Corona and Modelo to American consumers. Constellation supplies retail, on‑premise and foodservice channels and supports its brands with national sales and marketing platforms and supply‑chain capabilities.

The company traces its roots to the Canandaigua Wine Company, founded by Marvin Sands in 1945, and evolved through organic growth and acquisition into a diversified beverage company.