Capital International Inc. CA Buys 60,218 Shares of Constellation Brands Inc $STZ

Key Points

• Capital International Inc. CA boosted its Constellation Brands stake by 48.1% in Q4, buying 60,218 more shares and bringing its total holding to 185,479 shares worth about $25.6 million.
• Institutional interest in STZ remains strong overall, with 77.34% of the stock owned by institutions and hedge funds; several large investors also increased positions during the quarter.
• Analysts are mixed but generally positive: the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus rating, while Constellation Brands also recently raised its quarterly dividend to $1.03 per share, equal to an annualized yield of 2.9%.

Capital International Inc. CA increased its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands Inc (NYSE:STZ - Free Report) by 48.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 185,479 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 60,218 shares during the quarter. Capital International Inc. CA owned about 0.11% of Constellation Brands worth $25,589,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in STZ. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 48.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,442,600 shares of the company's stock worth $888,930,000 after acquiring an additional 2,105,546 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Constellation Brands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $267,798,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 650.6% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,769,741 shares of the company's stock worth $287,889,000 after acquiring an additional 1,533,961 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Constellation Brands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $81,381,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,202,611 shares of the company's stock worth $2,451,346,000 after acquiring an additional 573,766 shares during the last quarter. 77.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Constellation Brands from $154.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Constellation Brands in a report on Monday, May 4th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Constellation Brands from $146.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. TD Cowen raised Constellation Brands from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $142.00 to $190.00 in a report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Constellation Brands in a report on Monday, May 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $175.26.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Constellation Brands news, EVP James O. Bourdeau sold 4,407 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.24, for a total value of $631,258.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 9,109 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,304,773.16. This represents a 32.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 12.45% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Constellation Brands Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE STZ opened at $141.11 on Monday. 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 stock's fifty day moving average price is $150.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $149.53. Constellation Brands Inc has a one year low of $126.45 and a one year high of $178.13. The firm has a market cap of $24.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.39.

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

Constellation Brands Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 29th were issued 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 yield of 2.9%. This is a positive change from Constellation Brands's previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Constellation Brands's payout ratio is currently 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.

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