ABN Amro Investment Solutions Sells 10,076 Shares of Constellation Brands Inc $STZ

Key Points

• ABN Amro Investment Solutions cut its Constellation Brands stake by 46.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 10,076 shares and leaving it with 11,698 shares worth about $1.61 million.
• Constellation Brands reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting earnings of $1.90 per share versus estimates of $1.71 and revenue of $1.92 billion versus $1.84 billion expected, though revenue still fell 11.3% from a year earlier.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.03 per share from $1.02, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus “Moderate Buy” with a target price of $175.37.

ABN Amro Investment Solutions lowered its stake in shares of Constellation Brands Inc (NYSE:STZ - Free Report) by 46.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,698 shares of the company's stock after selling 10,076 shares during the period. ABN Amro Investment Solutions' holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $1,614,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in STZ. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Constellation Brands by 650.6% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,769,741 shares of the company's stock valued at $287,889,000 after acquiring an additional 1,533,961 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Constellation Brands by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,202,611 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,451,346,000 after buying an additional 573,766 shares in the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Constellation Brands by 1,249.7% in the 2nd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 476,702 shares of the company's stock valued at $77,550,000 after buying an additional 441,382 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Constellation Brands by 26.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 1,664,151 shares of the company's stock valued at $224,111,000 after buying an additional 351,241 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Constellation Brands by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,160,202 shares of the company's stock valued at $290,915,000 after buying an additional 290,701 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.34% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Constellation Brands

In other news, EVP James O. Bourdeau sold 4,407 shares of Constellation Brands stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.24, for a total transaction of $631,258.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 9,109 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,304,773.16. This trade represents a 32.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 12.45% of the company's stock.

Constellation Brands Stock Performance

NYSE:STZ opened at $149.50 on Friday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $152.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $148.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.74 billion, a PE ratio of 15.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. Constellation Brands Inc has a twelve month low of $126.45 and a twelve month high of $186.40.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Constellation Brands had a return on equity of 26.18% and a net margin of 17.29%.The business had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.63 earnings per share. Constellation Brands's revenue was down 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Constellation Brands Inc will post 11.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Constellation Brands Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

STZ has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore set a $175.00 price objective on Constellation Brands and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Constellation Brands in a report on Thursday, April 9th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Constellation Brands from $176.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Constellation Brands from $146.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Constellation Brands from $154.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $175.37.

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.

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