Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Increases Stock Position in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ - Free Report) by 7.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 69,100 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,570 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.'s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $17,806,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Constellation Brands by 23,184.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 499,689 shares of the company's stock valued at $128,765,000 after buying an additional 497,543 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 31.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,002,332 shares of the company's stock worth $257,865,000 after acquiring an additional 241,982 shares during the last quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 617.3% during the 3rd quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC now owns 108,382 shares of the company's stock worth $27,929,000 after purchasing an additional 93,273 shares during the period. Coho Partners Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 40.1% during the 3rd quarter. Coho Partners Ltd. now owns 283,079 shares of the company's stock worth $72,947,000 after purchasing an additional 80,970 shares during the period. Finally, Interval Partners LP acquired a new stake in Constellation Brands in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $19,134,000. 77.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on STZ. Needham & Company LLC initiated coverage on Constellation Brands in a research report on Friday. They set a "buy" rating and a $280.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen cut Constellation Brands from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $300.00 to $270.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Constellation Brands in a research note on Monday, November 25th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $261.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Constellation Brands currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $288.70.

Constellation Brands Stock Performance

STZ traded down $0.50 on Friday, reaching $239.00. The company had a trading volume of 1,701,897 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,221,266. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $224.76 and a 1 year high of $274.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.39 billion, a PE ratio of 77.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $240.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $246.35.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 3rd. The company reported $4.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.08 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. Constellation Brands had a return on equity of 25.34% and a net margin of 5.29%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.70 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Constellation Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th were given a dividend of $1.01 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. Constellation Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 130.74%.

Insider Activity at Constellation Brands

In other Constellation Brands news, major shareholder Wildstar Partners Llc sold 660 shares of Constellation Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.00, for a total value of $159,060.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,736,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $418,589,044. This trade represents a 0.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO William A. Newlands sold 7,426 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.24, for a total value of $1,761,744.24. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 7,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,725,683.76. This represents a 50.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 189,956 shares of company stock worth $46,058,091 in the last 90 days. 12.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Constellation Brands 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 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.