Atom Investors LP Has $4.97 Million Position in Constellation Brands Inc $STZ

Key Points

• Atom Investors LP boosted its Constellation Brands stake by 85.9% in the fourth quarter, ending with 36,040 shares valued at about $4.97 million.
• Wall Street sentiment on STZ remains broadly positive, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $175.26; several firms recently raised targets, including Wells Fargo, UBS, and Morgan Stanley.
• Constellation Brands reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings and recently raised its dividend to $1.03 per share, though revenue still fell 11.3% year over year.

Atom Investors LP increased its position in shares of Constellation Brands Inc (NYSE:STZ - Free Report) by 85.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,040 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 16,651 shares during the period. Atom Investors LP's holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $4,972,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stance Capital LLC acquired a new position in Constellation Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Constellation Brands in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Constellation Brands in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Constellation Brands by 58.9% in the 4th quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 267 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Constellation Brands in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. 77.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Constellation Brands from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Constellation Brands in a report on Monday, May 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Constellation Brands from $160.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. UBS Group lifted 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. Finally, Evercore set a $175.00 price objective on Constellation Brands and gave the company an "outperform" 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 assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $175.26.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP James O. Bourdeau sold 4,407 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 owned 9,109 shares in the company, valued at $1,304,773.16. The trade was a 32.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 12.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Constellation Brands Price Performance

Constellation Brands stock opened at $144.26 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 0.39. Constellation Brands Inc has a 52 week low of $126.45 and a 52 week high of $178.13. 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 $149.71 and a 200-day moving average of $150.12.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 8th. The company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. Constellation Brands had a return on equity of 26.18% and a net margin of 17.29%.Constellation Brands's quarterly revenue was down 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.63 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Constellation Brands Inc will post 11.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Constellation Brands Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 29th were given a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 29th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. This is an increase from Constellation Brands's previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Constellation Brands's dividend payout ratio is presently 42.96%.

Constellation Brands 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.