Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Purchases Shares of 9,800 Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 9,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,369,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC raised its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 17.2% during the third quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 17,218 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,327,000 after purchasing an additional 2,526 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 15.3% during the third quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 32,433 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,151,000 after purchasing an additional 4,311 shares during the period. Perigon Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 46.0% during the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,012 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,453,000 after purchasing an additional 1,893 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 35.8% during the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 2,002 shares of the company’s stock worth $484,000 after purchasing an additional 528 shares during the period. Finally, Ascent Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Constellation Brands during the fourth quarter worth approximately $962,000. 77.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Constellation Brands Stock Down 0.3 %

STZ stock opened at $257.78 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.19. The company has a market capitalization of $47.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.48, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.97. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $221.81 and a fifty-two week high of $274.87. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $257.25 and a 200-day moving average of $247.05.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. Constellation Brands had a return on equity of 23.06% and a net margin of 16.13%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.98 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Constellation Brands Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be paid a dividend of $1.01 per share. This is an increase from Constellation Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $4.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TheStreet lowered Constellation Brands from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Constellation Brands from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Constellation Brands from $295.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. HSBC increased their price target on Constellation Brands from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Constellation Brands presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $298.55.

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