Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Invests $4.18 Million in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 18,915 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,180,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,534,787 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,433,188,000 after purchasing an additional 1,821,969 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,176,095 shares of the company's stock worth $482,919,000 after buying an additional 253,445 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Constellation Brands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $445,883,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Constellation Brands by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,782,964 shares of the company's stock valued at $394,035,000 after acquiring an additional 38,786 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Constellation Brands by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,372,485 shares of the company's stock worth $303,319,000 after purchasing an additional 25,110 shares in the last quarter. 77.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Constellation Brands Price Performance

Constellation Brands stock traded up $1.49 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $187.12. The stock had a trading volume of 163,664 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,687,476. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm's 50 day moving average is $176.86 and its 200 day moving average is $208.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.75. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $160.46 and a one year high of $265.70.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 9th. The company reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.14 billion. Constellation Brands had a return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 6.27%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.26 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.5 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 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This is a boost from Constellation Brands's previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 29th. Constellation Brands's payout ratio is presently -792.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Constellation Brands

In other news, Director William T. Giles acquired 1,000 shares of Constellation Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $186.39 per share, with a total value of $186,390.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,463 shares of the company's stock, valued at $272,688.57. This trade represents a 215.98 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 12.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

STZ has been the subject of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Constellation Brands from $260.00 to $225.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Roth Mkm reduced their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $284.00 to $256.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Constellation Brands from $230.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Citigroup reduced their target price on Constellation Brands from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Thursday. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Constellation Brands has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $231.10.

About Constellation Brands

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 Familiar, Corona Hard Seltzer, Corona Light, Corona Non-Alcoholic, Corona Premier, Corona Refresca, Modelo Especial, Modelo Chelada, Modelo Negra, Modelo Oro, Victoria, Vicky Chamoy, and Pacifico brands.