Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC Boosts Position in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC raised its stake in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 42.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,454,258 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 736,780 shares during the period. Constellation Brands accounts for about 1.8% of Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC owned 1.36% of Constellation Brands worth $542,391,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 13.3% in the 4th 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 last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Constellation Brands by 6.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,144,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,841,048,000 after acquiring an additional 402,211 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,204,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $705,844,000 after purchasing an additional 63,323 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 13.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 253,445 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Constellation Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $445,883,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.34% of the company’s stock.

Constellation Brands Stock Down 4.2 %

Shares of NYSE STZ opened at $173.79 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $177.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $212.55. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $160.46 and a 52 week high of $274.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.75.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The company reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.33 by ($0.08). Constellation Brands had a return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 6.27%. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.53 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.19 EPS. Constellation Brands’s revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Constellation Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $1.01 per share. This represents a $4.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 108.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Constellation Brands news, Director William T. Giles bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $186.39 per share, for a total transaction of $186,390.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,463 shares in the company, valued at approximately $272,688.57. The trade was a 215.98 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 12.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on STZ shares. Roth Mkm cut their price target on Constellation Brands from $284.00 to $256.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $201.00 target price (down from $310.00) on shares of Constellation Brands in a report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup cut shares of Constellation Brands from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $260.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Constellation Brands from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $220.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Roth Capital decreased their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $298.00 to $284.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Constellation Brands currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $244.32.

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.