Bessemer Group Inc. Sells 1,075 Shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Bessemer Group Inc. lowered its stake in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 33.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,177 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,075 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $481,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Constellation Brands by 13.3% during 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted 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 period. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC grew its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 42.9% in the fourth quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 2,454,258 shares of the company’s stock worth $542,391,000 after purchasing an additional 736,780 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 253,445 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Constellation Brands during the 4th quarter valued at about $445,883,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on STZ. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Constellation Brands from $270.00 to $260.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Constellation Brands from $300.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Roth Mkm decreased their target price on Constellation Brands from $284.00 to $256.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Constellation Brands from $203.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Argus downgraded Constellation Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $224.42.

Constellation Brands Stock Down 1.8 %

STZ opened at $183.81 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.41, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.75. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $177.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $208.04. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a twelve month low of $160.46 and a twelve month high of $265.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 9th. The company reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. Constellation Brands had a net margin of 6.27% and a return on equity of 26.55%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be issued a $1.02 dividend. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -800.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director William T. Giles purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $186.39 per share, with a total value of $186,390.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 1,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $272,688.57. This trade represents a 215.98 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 12.19% of the company’s stock.

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.