Confluence Wealth Services Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 7.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,265 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc.’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $501,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Constellation Brands by 23,184.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 499,689 shares of the company’s stock worth $128,765,000 after purchasing an additional 497,543 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 6.0% during the third 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 during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 66.3% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 369,966 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,762,000 after acquiring an additional 147,457 shares in the last quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 617.3% in the third quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC now owns 108,382 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,929,000 after acquiring an additional 93,273 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Constellation Brands by 4,601.2% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 87,771 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,618,000 after acquiring an additional 85,904 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.34% of the company’s stock.

Constellation Brands Price Performance

NYSE STZ opened at $172.79 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $212.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $232.73. 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. The company has a market cap of $31.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.45, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.75.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 10th. The company reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.53 billion. Constellation Brands had a return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 6.27%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.19 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Constellation Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a $1.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 108.60%.

Insider Activity

In other Constellation Brands news, major shareholder Wildstar Partners Llc sold 660 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.00, for a total transaction of $159,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO William A. Newlands sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.58, for a total value of $6,089,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 7,274 shares in the company, valued at $1,771,800.92. The trade was a 77.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 61,746 shares of company stock valued at $15,017,097 in the last three months. 12.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on STZ shares. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $282.00 to $214.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Constellation Brands from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $245.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Monday. UBS Group dropped their target price on Constellation Brands from $265.00 to $223.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com downgraded Constellation Brands from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Argus cut Constellation Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $254.29.

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.