Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Sells 20,967 Shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. reduced its position in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 30.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 47,575 shares of the company’s stock after selling 20,967 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $12,260,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Constellation Brands in the second quarter valued at $119,394,000. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Constellation Brands during the third quarter valued at about $2,132,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Constellation Brands by 318.8% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,624,000 after acquiring an additional 7,752 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Constellation Brands in the 1st quarter worth $561,000. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 182.1% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 14,236 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,869,000 after buying an additional 9,190 shares in the last quarter. 77.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Constellation Brands Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE STZ opened at $240.84 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $243.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $247.68. The stock has a market cap of $43.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.94, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $224.76 and a 12 month high of $274.87.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 3rd. The company reported $4.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.08 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.95 billion. Constellation Brands had a return on equity of 25.34% and a net margin of 5.29%. Constellation Brands’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.70 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Constellation Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 5th were paid a $1.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.68%. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 130.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP James A. Jr. Sabia sold 36,086 shares of Constellation Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.99, for a total value of $8,768,537.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,898,045.58. The trade was a 69.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO William A. Newlands sold 7,426 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.24, for a total transaction of $1,761,744.24. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 7,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,725,683.76. The trade was a 50.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 189,296 shares of company stock valued at $45,899,031. 12.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on STZ. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $298.00 price objective on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Friday, October 4th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Constellation Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $300.00 to $270.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Constellation Brands from $307.00 to $293.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $315.00 to $305.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on Constellation Brands from $265.00 to $255.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Constellation Brands has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $290.47.

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.