Sentry Investment Management LLC Sells 91 Shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Sentry Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 9.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 846 shares of the company’s stock after selling 91 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $205,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,601,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,902,327,000 after buying an additional 313,344 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,050,468 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,018,005,000 after buying an additional 58,518 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 84,839.5% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,742,434 shares of the company’s stock worth $867,309,000 after buying an additional 3,738,028 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 102.0% during the 2nd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,937,570 shares of the company’s stock worth $723,027,000 after buying an additional 1,483,668 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,863,322 shares of the company’s stock worth $645,055,000 after buying an additional 50,672 shares during the last quarter. 77.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Constellation Brands Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE STZ opened at $257.78 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $257.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $247.05. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $221.81 and a one year high of $274.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.16. Constellation Brands had a return on equity of 23.06% and a net margin of 16.13%. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.98 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Constellation Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be issued a $1.01 dividend. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. This is a positive change from Constellation Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on STZ shares. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Constellation Brands from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Bank of America increased their target price on Constellation Brands from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. UBS Group increased their target price on Constellation Brands from $312.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. TheStreet downgraded Constellation Brands from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Constellation Brands from $294.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $298.55.

Constellation Brands Company 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.