Swedbank AB Grows Stock Position in Constellation Brands Inc $STZ

Key Points

• Swedbank AB more than doubled its Constellation Brands stake in the fourth quarter, buying 32,757 additional shares and ending with 63,055 shares valued at about $8.7 million.
• Constellation Brands reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $1.90 per share on revenue of $1.92 billion, even though revenue was still down 11.3% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.03 per share, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus “Moderate Buy” with a target price of $175.37.

Swedbank AB lifted its stake in shares of Constellation Brands Inc (NYSE:STZ - Free Report) by 108.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 63,055 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 32,757 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB's holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $8,699,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. OLD Republic International Corp raised its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 76.7% during the fourth quarter. OLD Republic International Corp now owns 193,500 shares of the company's stock worth $26,695,000 after purchasing an additional 84,000 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 47.0% during the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,636 shares of the company's stock worth $502,000 after purchasing an additional 1,162 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Constellation Brands during the fourth quarter worth approximately $14,639,000. LSV Asset Management raised its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 102.0% during the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 495,180 shares of the company's stock worth $68,315,000 after purchasing an additional 250,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RD Lewis Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Constellation Brands during the fourth quarter worth approximately $202,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.34% of the company's stock.

Constellation Brands Trading Down 1.2%

NYSE:STZ opened at $147.65 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $152.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $149.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.40, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.08. Constellation Brands Inc has a 1 year low of $126.45 and a 1 year high of $186.40.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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. The company 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 revenue was down 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.63 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Constellation Brands Inc will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Constellation Brands Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Constellation Brands from $155.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Bank of America increased their price objective on Constellation Brands from $142.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Constellation Brands from $146.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Constellation Brands from $160.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Monday, May 4th. One research 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 given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $175.37.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 sale, the executive vice president owned 9,109 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,304,773.16. This represents a 32.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 12.45% of the company's stock.

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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