Lee Danner & Bass Inc. Has $3.98 Million Stock Holdings in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Lee Danner & Bass Inc. trimmed its holdings in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,011 shares of the company’s stock after selling 419 shares during the quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc.’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $3,980,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in STZ. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 1,844.7% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 924,274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $204,265,000 after purchasing an additional 876,745 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Constellation Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $105,766,000. State Street Corp increased its position in Constellation Brands by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,144,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,841,048,000 after buying an additional 402,211 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its position in Constellation Brands by 54.9% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 453,180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $99,373,000 after buying an additional 160,563 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Constellation Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,656,000. 77.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Constellation Brands

In other news, Director William T. Giles acquired 1,000 shares of Constellation Brands stock in a transaction 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 completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 1,463 shares in the company, valued at approximately $272,688.57. This trade represents a 215.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 12.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on STZ shares. StockNews.com lowered Constellation Brands from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $240.00 target price on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price 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. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $203.00 price objective (down from $262.00) on shares of Constellation Brands in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Argus lowered Constellation Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $250.41.

Constellation Brands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE STZ opened at $178.96 on Friday. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a twelve month low of $160.46 and a twelve month high of $274.87. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $177.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $217.72. The company has a market capitalization of $32.34 billion, a PE ratio of 48.11, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.53 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.19 earnings per share. Constellation Brands’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.5 EPS for the current year.

Constellation Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $1.01 per share. This represents a $4.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 108.60%.

Constellation Brands Company 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.