Yousif Capital Management LLC Cuts Holdings in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Yousif Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 20,288 shares of the company’s stock after selling 388 shares during the quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $4,484,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in STZ. Oakworth Capital Inc. lifted its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $255,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC increased its stake in Constellation Brands by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 1,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC raised its holdings in Constellation Brands by 0.8% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 5,570 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,435,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its holdings in Constellation Brands by 6.2% during the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 858 shares of the company’s stock worth $221,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL boosted its position in Constellation Brands by 4.6% during the third quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 1,158 shares of the company’s stock worth $298,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. 77.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Wildstar Partners Llc sold 660 shares of Constellation Brands stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.00, for a total transaction of $159,060.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,736,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $418,589,044. The trade was a 0.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director William T. Giles purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $186.39 per share, with a total value of $186,390.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 1,463 shares in the company, valued at $272,688.57. This represents a 215.98 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 61,746 shares of company stock valued at $15,017,097. 12.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Constellation Brands Price Performance

Constellation Brands stock opened at $169.05 on Friday. 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 $30.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.44, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.90. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $166.02 and a 1 year high of $274.87. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $210.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $231.88.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 10th. The company reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by ($0.08). Constellation Brands had a return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 6.27%. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.19 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Constellation Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.01 per share. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Constellation Brands’s payout ratio is currently 108.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

STZ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Constellation Brands from $300.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $203.00 target price (down previously from $262.00) on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $201.00 price target (down previously from $310.00) on shares of Constellation Brands in a report on Monday, January 13th. Roth Capital dropped their price objective on shares of Constellation Brands from $298.00 to $284.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Constellation Brands from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $254.29.

Constellation Brands 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 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.