Voleon Capital Management LP Invests $5.06 Million in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Voleon Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 22,902 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,061,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 1,844.7% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 924,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $204,265,000 after purchasing an additional 876,745 shares in the last quarter. Copperleaf Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Constellation Brands during the 4th quarter worth $343,000. Grimes & Company Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Constellation Brands during the 4th quarter valued at $6,099,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 62.8% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,663,000 after purchasing an additional 6,391 shares during the period. Finally, Southern Style Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Constellation Brands in the 4th quarter valued at $3,074,000. 77.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on STZ shares. Citigroup cut their price target on Constellation Brands from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Constellation Brands from $230.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Argus downgraded Constellation Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Constellation Brands in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Constellation Brands from $203.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $224.42.

Constellation Brands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE STZ opened at $186.20 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.05, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.75. The business has a 50-day moving average of $181.43 and a 200-day moving average of $203.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.46. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $160.46 and a fifty-two week high of $265.70.

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

Constellation Brands Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be paid a $1.02 dividend. This is an increase from Constellation Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 29th. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -800.00%.

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.