Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) Shares Sold by Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. cut its position in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ - Free Report) by 33.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,808 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,953 shares during the period. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.'s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $843,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of STZ. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Constellation Brands during the 4th quarter worth about $445,883,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Constellation Brands by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,534,787 shares of the company's stock worth $3,433,188,000 after purchasing an additional 1,821,969 shares during the last quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. increased its stake in Constellation Brands by 186.6% in the fourth quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. now owns 1,527,689 shares of the company's stock valued at $337,619,000 after purchasing an additional 994,639 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in 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. Finally, Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC lifted its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 42.9% during 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 buying an additional 736,780 shares during the last quarter. 77.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on STZ shares. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Constellation Brands from $270.00 to $260.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Roth Capital reduced their price objective on Constellation Brands from $298.00 to $284.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Roth Mkm lowered their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $284.00 to $256.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Constellation Brands from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Constellation Brands from $230.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $224.42.

Constellation Brands Price Performance

NYSE STZ traded down $2.21 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $185.33. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,594,382 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,711,756. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 1.10. The company's 50-day moving average is $181.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $203.74. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $160.46 and a fifty-two week high of $265.70. The stock has a market cap of $33.50 billion, a PE ratio of 49.82, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.75.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 9th. The company reported $2.63 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 business had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.26 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.5 EPS for the current year.

Constellation Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 29th. This is a boost from Constellation Brands's previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. Constellation Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -800.00%.

About Constellation Brands

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.