Stephens Inc. AR Cuts Stock Holdings in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Stephens Inc. AR lowered its holdings in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 50,427 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,026 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $11,144,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Grimes & Company Inc. bought a new position in Constellation Brands in the fourth quarter worth approximately $6,099,000. Southern Style Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Constellation Brands in the 4th quarter worth $3,074,000. Paloma Partners Management Co lifted its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 568.4% during the 3rd quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 30,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,731,000 after purchasing an additional 25,512 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Constellation Brands by 3.7% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 84,204 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,699,000 after purchasing an additional 2,980 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Constellation Brands by 318.8% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,624,000 after purchasing an additional 7,752 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on STZ shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $201.00 price target (down from $310.00) on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $280.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Constellation Brands from $300.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Constellation Brands from $270.00 to $260.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Roth Capital dropped 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, nine have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $254.29.

Constellation Brands Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of Constellation Brands stock opened at $169.05 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $30.55 billion, a PE ratio of 45.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.90. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $208.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $231.27. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $166.02 and a 1 year high of $274.87. 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 released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.19 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Constellation Brands Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions 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 transaction of $159,060.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,736,884 shares in the company, valued at $418,589,044. This trade represents a 0.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director William T. Giles purchased 1,000 shares of Constellation Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $186.39 per share, with a total value of $186,390.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,463 shares in the company, valued at $272,688.57. This trade represents a 215.98 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 61,746 shares of company stock valued at $15,017,097 in the last 90 days. 12.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.