New York State Teachers Retirement System Boosts Stake in Constellation Brands Inc $STZ

New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in Constellation Brands Inc (NYSE:STZ) by 11.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 128,887 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,633 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $17,781,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Verity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Constellation Brands in the 4th quarter worth $321,000. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC increased its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 44.8% in the 4th quarter. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC now owns 2,289 shares of the company’s stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 708 shares in the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 85.7% in the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 11,424 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,576,000 after purchasing an additional 5,272 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 89,526 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,351,000 after purchasing an additional 29,832 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 19.1% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 21,266 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,933,000 after purchasing an additional 3,415 shares in the last quarter. 77.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $142.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. TD Cowen raised shares of Constellation Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $142.00 to $190.00 in a report on Monday, April 13th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $146.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Constellation Brands currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.14.

Constellation Brands Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of Constellation Brands stock opened at $152.88 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $154.67 and a 200 day moving average of $147.71. Constellation Brands Inc has a fifty-two week low of $126.45 and a fifty-two week high of $196.91. The company has a market capitalization of $26.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.08.

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

Constellation Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 29th will be issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. This is a boost from Constellation Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 29th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Constellation Brands’s payout ratio is currently 42.96%.

Constellation Brands 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.