Tredje AP fonden Sells 30,000 Shares of Constellation Brands Inc $STZ

Tredje AP fonden lowered its stake in Constellation Brands Inc (NYSE:STZ) by 14.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 182,719 shares of the company’s stock after selling 30,000 shares during the period. Tredje AP fonden’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $25,208,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 329.8% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 73,323 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,874,000 after acquiring an additional 56,263 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. increased its holdings in Constellation Brands by 22.7% in the 3rd quarter. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. now owns 35,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,756,000 after purchasing an additional 6,542 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Constellation Brands by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 867,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $120,300,000 after purchasing an additional 49,625 shares in the last quarter. Cambiar Investors LLC raised its position in Constellation Brands by 27.5% in the third quarter. Cambiar Investors LLC now owns 227,218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,599,000 after purchasing an additional 48,954 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Constellation Brands in the third quarter valued at about $33,018,000. Institutional investors own 77.34% of the company’s stock.

Constellation Brands Price Performance

Shares of STZ opened at $147.68 on Tuesday. Constellation Brands Inc has a 1 year low of $126.45 and a 1 year high of $195.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The company has a market capitalization of $25.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.75. The business has a 50-day moving average of $152.68 and a 200-day moving average of $148.20.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 8th. The company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion for 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 revenue was down 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.63 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Constellation Brands Inc will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Constellation Brands Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 29th were paid a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 29th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. This is an increase from Constellation Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Constellation Brands’s payout ratio is currently 42.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

STZ has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on Constellation Brands from $176.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Constellation Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $142.00 to $190.00 in a report on Monday, April 13th. Evercore set a $175.00 target price on shares of Constellation Brands and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Bank of America boosted 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Constellation Brands has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.37.

Insider Activity at Constellation Brands

In other news, EVP James O. Bourdeau sold 4,407 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.24, for a total transaction of $631,258.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 9,109 shares in the company, valued at $1,304,773.16. This represents a 32.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 12.45% of the company’s stock.

About Constellation Brands

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.