Sapient Capital LLC Takes Position in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 1,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $415,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in STZ. Prudential PLC bought a new position in Constellation Brands in the first quarter worth approximately $705,000. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 17,026 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,921,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 17.6% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,149 shares of the company’s stock worth $725,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Constellation Brands by 2.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,601,280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,902,327,000 after purchasing an additional 313,344 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ergoteles LLC purchased a new position in Constellation Brands in the first quarter valued at about $257,000. 77.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $295.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $312.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Barclays reduced their price target on Constellation Brands from $296.00 to $294.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Argus cut Constellation Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, HSBC upped their target price on Constellation Brands from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $298.11.

Constellation Brands Stock Down 2.3 %

STZ stock opened at $262.24 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $47.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.97. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $221.81 and a 12 month high of $274.87. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $256.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $246.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.46.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. Constellation Brands had a net margin of 16.13% and a return on equity of 23.06%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.98 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Constellation Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.01 per share. This represents a $4.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. This is a positive change from Constellation Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.07%.

Constellation Brands Company Profile

Constellation Brands, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, produces, imports, markets, and sells beer, wine, and spirits in the United States, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, and Italy. The company provides beer primarily under the Corona Extra, Corona Premier, Corona Familiar, Corona Light, Corona Refresca, Corona Hard Seltzer, Modelo Especial, Modelo Negra, Modelo Chelada, Victoria, Vicky Chamoy, and Pacifico brands.