Constellation Brands Inc $STZ Holdings Raised by Patten & Patten Inc. TN

Key Points

• Patten & Patten Inc. TN increased its stake in Constellation Brands by 129% in the fourth quarter, buying 14,083 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 24,996 shares worth about $3.45 million.
• Constellation Brands reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.90 versus estimates of $1.71 and revenue of $1.92 billion versus $1.84 billion expected, even though revenue fell 11.3% year over year.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.03 per share, and analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $176.30.

Patten & Patten Inc. TN grew its stake in shares of Constellation Brands Inc (NYSE:STZ - Free Report) by 129.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,996 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,083 shares during the period. Patten & Patten Inc. TN's holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $3,448,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 573,766 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,337,054 shares of the company's stock worth $584,135,000 after purchasing an additional 28,036 shares in the last quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC raised its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 3,710,940 shares of the company's stock worth $499,752,000 after purchasing an additional 35,085 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 76.7% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,126,644 shares of the company's stock worth $421,059,000 after purchasing an additional 1,356,903 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 15.5% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,160,202 shares of the company's stock worth $290,915,000 after purchasing an additional 290,701 shares in the last quarter. 77.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Constellation Brands Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE STZ opened at $148.00 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $25.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.43, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.43. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $154.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $147.99. Constellation Brands Inc has a 52 week low of $126.45 and a 52 week high of $196.91.

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. 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%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.63 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Constellation Brands Inc will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Constellation Brands Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on Constellation Brands from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. UBS Group raised their price target on Constellation Brands from $176.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Constellation Brands from $154.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Constellation Brands in a research note on Monday. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Constellation Brands in a research note on Friday, April 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Constellation Brands has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $176.30.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding STZ? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Constellation Brands Inc (NYSE:STZ - Free Report).

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.