Lecap Asset Management Ltd. Takes $1.84 Million Position in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 8,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,836,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Czech National Bank grew its stake in Constellation Brands by 4.0% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 31,918 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,225,000 after purchasing an additional 1,239 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co grew its stake in Constellation Brands by 6.2% in the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 929 shares of the company’s stock worth $239,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. grew its stake in Constellation Brands by 13.0% in the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 703 shares of the company’s stock worth $181,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management grew its stake in Constellation Brands by 7.2% in the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 15,734 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,055,000 after purchasing an additional 1,061 shares during the period. Finally, Daymark Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Constellation Brands by 14.9% in the third quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,536 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,427,000 after purchasing an additional 719 shares during the period. 77.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Constellation Brands Stock Down 1.2 %

STZ stock opened at $170.83 on Friday. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $166.02 and a fifty-two week high of $274.87. The business’s 50-day moving average is $210.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $231.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 1.10. The company has a market cap of $30.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.90.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The company reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by ($0.08). Constellation Brands had a net margin of 6.27% and a return on equity of 26.55%. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.19 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Constellation Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $1.01 dividend. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio is 108.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Constellation Brands

In other news, major shareholder Wildstar Partners Llc sold 660 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.00, for a total value of $159,060.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,736,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $418,589,044. This trade represents a 0.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO William A. Newlands sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.58, for a total value of $6,089,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 7,274 shares in the company, valued at $1,771,800.92. This trade represents a 77.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 61,746 shares of company stock valued at $15,017,097. 12.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on STZ shares. Argus cut Constellation Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Truist Financial cut their target price on Constellation Brands from $255.00 to $190.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Constellation Brands from $300.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $293.00 target price on shares of Constellation Brands in a research note on Monday. Finally, Piper Sandler cut Constellation Brands from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $245.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $254.29.

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.