Bayforest Capital Ltd Sells 3,740 Shares of Constellation Brands Inc $STZ

Bayforest Capital Ltd cut its position in Constellation Brands Inc (NYSE:STZ) by 53.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,234 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,740 shares during the quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $446,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Constellation Brands by 3.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,202,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,451,346,000 after purchasing an additional 573,766 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in Constellation Brands by 0.7% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,337,054 shares of the company’s stock valued at $584,135,000 after purchasing an additional 28,036 shares during the last quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC raised its position in Constellation Brands by 1.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 35,085 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Constellation Brands by 76.7% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,126,644 shares of the company’s stock valued at $421,059,000 after purchasing an additional 1,356,903 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in Constellation Brands by 15.5% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,160,202 shares of the company’s stock valued at $290,915,000 after purchasing an additional 290,701 shares during the last quarter. 77.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on STZ shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Constellation Brands from $154.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Constellation Brands from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Constellation Brands from $195.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Constellation Brands from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Evercore set a $175.00 price objective on Constellation Brands and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Constellation Brands has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.14.

Constellation Brands Price Performance

Shares of STZ opened at $162.11 on Friday. Constellation Brands Inc has a 1 year low of $126.45 and a 1 year high of $196.91. 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 company has a market capitalization of $28.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.75. The business has a 50-day moving average of $154.87 and a 200-day moving average of $146.75.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 8th. The company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.63 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Constellation Brands Inc will post 13.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Constellation Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 29th will be paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. This is an increase from Constellation Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 29th. 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.