Intech Investment Management LLC Purchases 4,186 Shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 34.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,445 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,186 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $3,976,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in STZ. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Constellation Brands in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 3,833.3% in the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 118 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Constellation Brands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Constellation Brands in the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Constellation Brands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Institutional investors own 77.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on STZ. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Constellation Brands in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group raised their target price on Constellation Brands from $312.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Barclays raised their target price on Constellation Brands from $294.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Constellation Brands from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Constellation Brands from $292.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $298.55.

Constellation Brands Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE STZ traded up $3.39 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $248.51. The company had a trading volume of 1,503,900 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,191,262. The company has a market capitalization of $45.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.95. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $227.50 and a 1 year high of $274.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $260.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $250.87.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. Constellation Brands had a return on equity of 23.06% and a net margin of 16.13%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.98 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Constellation Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd were paid a dividend of $1.01 per share. This is a positive change from Constellation Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $4.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.63%. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.07%.

Insider Activity at Constellation Brands

In other news, CEO William A. Newlands sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.54, for a total value of $6,538,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,844,638. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO William A. Newlands sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.54, for a total transaction of $6,538,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,844,638. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP James A. Jr. Sabia sold 15,781 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.63, for a total value of $4,160,345.03. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 20,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,512,503.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 48,031 shares of company stock valued at $12,582,321. Company insiders own 16.19% of the company’s stock.

Constellation Brands Company Profile

Constellation Brands, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, produces, imports, markets, and sells beer, wine, and spirits in the United States, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, and Italy. The company provides beer primarily under the Corona Extra, Corona Familiar, Corona Hard Seltzer, Corona Light, Corona Non-Alcoholic, Corona Premier, Corona Refresca, Modelo Especial, Modelo Chelada, Modelo Negra, Modelo Oro, Victoria, Vicky Chamoy, and Pacifico brands.