Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Acquires Shares of 9,800 Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 9,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,369,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Burns Matteson Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Constellation Brands by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Burns Matteson Capital Management LLC now owns 2,499 shares of the company’s stock valued at $604,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. raised its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 1,277 shares of the company’s stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp raised its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 0.3% in the third quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 16,237 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,081,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. United Capital Financial Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 2.9% in the first quarter. United Capital Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,552 shares of the company’s stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IHT Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 1.9% in the first quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,406 shares of the company’s stock worth $543,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on STZ. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Constellation Brands from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Constellation Brands from $256.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $305.00 price objective on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Constellation Brands from $295.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Constellation Brands from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Constellation Brands presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $298.55.

Constellation Brands Stock Performance

NYSE STZ opened at $257.78 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $47.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $257.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $247.05. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a twelve month low of $221.81 and a twelve month high of $274.87.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. Constellation Brands had a return on equity of 23.06% and a net margin of 16.13%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.98 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Constellation Brands Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.01 per share. This represents a $4.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 2nd. This is a boost from Constellation Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.95%.

About Constellation Brands

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 Premier, Corona Familiar, Corona Light, Corona Refresca, Corona Hard Seltzer, Modelo Especial, Modelo Negra, Modelo Chelada, Victoria, Vicky Chamoy, and Pacifico brands.