First Trust Advisors LP Has $64.72 Million Stock Position in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ - Free Report) by 824.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 292,834 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 261,166 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.16% of Constellation Brands worth $64,716,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Constellation Brands during the 4th quarter valued at $445,883,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Constellation Brands by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,534,787 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,433,188,000 after buying an additional 1,821,969 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Constellation Brands by 1,844.7% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 924,274 shares of the company's stock worth $204,265,000 after acquiring an additional 876,745 shares in the last quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC boosted its position in Constellation Brands by 42.9% during the 4th quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 2,454,258 shares of the company's stock worth $542,391,000 after acquiring an additional 736,780 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Constellation Brands during the 4th quarter valued at about $105,766,000. 77.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Constellation Brands Trading Down 0.1 %

Constellation Brands stock opened at $187.00 on Wednesday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $179.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $205.74. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $160.46 and a 52 week high of $265.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.80 billion, a PE ratio of 50.27, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 1.10.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 9th. The company reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $2.13 billion for 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.26 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Constellation Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This is an increase from Constellation Brands's previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 29th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. Constellation Brands's payout ratio is presently -800.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on STZ. StockNews.com cut shares of Constellation Brands from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $270.00 to $260.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Constellation Brands from $265.00 to $223.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays boosted their target price on Constellation Brands from $203.00 to $207.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Argus downgraded Constellation Brands from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $224.42.

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.

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