Renaissance Technologies LLC Acquires 25,800 Shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 30.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 111,700 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,800 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned 0.06% of Constellation Brands worth $24,686,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,534,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,433,188,000 after buying an additional 1,821,969 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Constellation Brands by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,204,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $705,844,000 after acquiring an additional 63,323 shares during the last quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC increased its stake in Constellation Brands by 42.9% in the 4th quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 2,454,258 shares of the company’s stock worth $542,391,000 after purchasing an additional 736,780 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Constellation Brands by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,176,095 shares of the company’s stock valued at $482,919,000 after purchasing an additional 253,445 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Constellation Brands during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $445,883,000. 77.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on STZ. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $230.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Constellation Brands from $265.00 to $223.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Roth Mkm dropped their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $284.00 to $256.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Constellation Brands from $203.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Constellation Brands in a report on Thursday. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $231.10.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director William T. Giles purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $186.39 per share, for a total transaction of $186,390.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,463 shares in the company, valued at $272,688.57. This represents a 215.98 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 12.19% of the company’s stock.

Constellation Brands Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE STZ opened at $185.63 on Friday. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $160.46 and a 1 year high of $270.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $176.86 and a 200 day moving average of $209.03. The stock has a market cap of $33.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.75.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 9th. The company reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.35. Constellation Brands had a net margin of 6.27% and a return on equity of 26.55%. The firm had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.26 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Constellation Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be paid a $1.02 dividend. This is a boost from Constellation Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 29th. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently -792.16%.

Constellation Brands 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.