Berkshire Bank Raises Stock Position in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Berkshire Bank lifted its stake in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 51.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,510 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 510 shares during the period. Berkshire Bank’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $334,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Clio Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Constellation Brands during the fourth quarter worth about $442,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in shares of Constellation Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Constellation Brands by 79.0% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,828 shares of the company’s stock worth $404,000 after buying an additional 807 shares during the last quarter. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC increased its position in Constellation Brands by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC now owns 25,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,737,000 after buying an additional 1,702 shares during the period. Finally, Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Constellation Brands by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 1,926 shares of the company’s stock valued at $426,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. 77.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Constellation Brands

In related news, EVP James A. Jr. Sabia sold 36,086 shares of the company’s 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 owns 16,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,898,045.58. This represents a 69.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Wildstar Partners Llc sold 660 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 1,736,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $418,589,044. The trade was a 0.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 61,746 shares of company stock valued at $15,017,097 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 12.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on STZ. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $203.00 target price (down from $262.00) on shares of Constellation Brands in a report on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $280.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and set a $298.00 price target on shares of Constellation Brands in a report on Friday, October 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $308.00 price objective on shares of Constellation Brands in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Roth Capital lowered their target price on Constellation Brands from $298.00 to $284.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $257.14.

Constellation Brands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:STZ opened at $187.84 on Tuesday. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $176.51 and a 12 month high of $274.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.75. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $221.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $236.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.46.

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 the consensus estimate of $3.33 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.53 billion. Constellation Brands had a net margin of 6.27% and a return on equity of 26.55%. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.19 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Constellation Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $1.01 per share. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Constellation Brands’s payout ratio is currently 108.60%.

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.