Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. Takes Position in Constellation Brands Inc $STZ

Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Constellation Brands Inc (NYSE:STZ - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 29,559 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,079,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 3.3% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 0.7% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,337,054 shares of the company's stock valued at $584,135,000 after buying an additional 28,036 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,739,549 shares of the company's stock valued at $513,871,000 after buying an additional 54,184 shares during the last quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC grew its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 1.0% during the third quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 3,710,940 shares of the company's stock valued at $499,752,000 after buying an additional 35,085 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 76.7% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,126,644 shares of the company's stock valued at $421,059,000 after buying an additional 1,356,903 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.34% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on STZ. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $176.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $146.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Evercore set a $175.00 target price on shares of Constellation Brands and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $185.00 target price on shares of Constellation Brands in a report on Friday, April 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $175.26.

Insider Activity at Constellation Brands

In other news, EVP James O. Bourdeau sold 4,407 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $1,304,773.16. This trade represents a 32.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 12.45% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Constellation Brands Stock Down 1.8%

STZ opened at $136.39 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. Constellation Brands Inc has a 1-year low of $126.45 and a 1-year high of $178.55. The company has a market capitalization of $23.49 billion, a PE ratio of 14.22, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.39. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $151.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $149.31.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 8th. The company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.19. Constellation Brands had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 26.18%. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.63 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Constellation Brands Inc will post 11.9 EPS for the current year.

Constellation Brands Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 29th were given a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 29th. This is a positive change from Constellation Brands's previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Constellation Brands's payout ratio is 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.

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