Sanctuary Advisors LLC Decreases Holdings in Constellation Brands Inc $STZ

Sanctuary Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands Inc (NYSE:STZ) by 14.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,572 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,526 shares during the quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $3,666,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 129.6% during the 4th quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 28,065 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,871,000 after purchasing an additional 15,840 shares during the last quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Constellation Brands during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. M&T Bank Corp increased its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 63.1% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 29,120 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,017,000 after purchasing an additional 11,269 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 18.7% during the 4th quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 87,856 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,290,000 after purchasing an additional 13,814 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Constellation Brands during the 4th quarter valued at $302,000. 77.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

STZ has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on Constellation Brands from $195.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. UBS Group raised their target price on Constellation Brands from $176.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Constellation Brands from $160.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Constellation Brands from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.14.

Constellation Brands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE STZ opened at $156.72 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $27.18 billion, a PE ratio of 16.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.75. 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.08. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $154.67 and a 200-day moving average of $147.66.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 8th. The company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. Constellation Brands had a return on equity of 26.18% and a net margin of 17.29%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.63 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Constellation Brands Inc will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Constellation Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 29th will be paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. This is a positive change from Constellation Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 29th. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio is 42.96%.

Constellation Brands Company 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.