Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Sells 99,807 Shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 29.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 240,297 shares of the company’s stock after selling 99,807 shares during the quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $53,106,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Constellation Brands by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,534,787 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,433,188,000 after acquiring an additional 1,821,969 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Constellation Brands by 2.0% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 736,780 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Constellation Brands by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,176,095 shares of the company’s stock worth $482,919,000 after buying an additional 253,445 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Constellation Brands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $445,883,000. Institutional investors own 77.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

STZ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Constellation Brands from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Constellation Brands from $289.00 to $233.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Piper Sandler downgraded Constellation Brands from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $245.00 to $200.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group cut their target price on Constellation Brands from $265.00 to $223.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Constellation Brands from $260.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $224.42.

Constellation Brands Stock Up 1.9 %

STZ stock opened at $186.58 on Friday. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $160.46 and a 1-year high of $265.70. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $178.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $206.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.72 billion, a PE ratio of 50.16, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.75.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 9th. The company reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.26 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.5 EPS for the current year.

Constellation Brands Increases Dividend

The company 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 represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 29th. This is a boost from Constellation Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. Constellation Brands’s payout ratio is currently -800.00%.

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.