Aviance Capital Partners LLC Acquires 221 Shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Aviance Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 16,834 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 221 shares during the period. Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $4,338,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Savoir Faire Capital Management L.P. raised its holdings in Constellation Brands by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Savoir Faire Capital Management L.P. now owns 30,260 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,798,000 after buying an additional 395 shares during the last quarter. LMR Partners LLP increased its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 87.5% in the third quarter. LMR Partners LLP now owns 37,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,663,000 after acquiring an additional 17,502 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 13.0% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 7,341 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,892,000 after acquiring an additional 845 shares during the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 0.3% during the third quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 33,223 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,561,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Schear Investment Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 12.0% during the third quarter. Schear Investment Advisers LLC now owns 4,141 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,067,000 after purchasing an additional 444 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

STZ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Constellation Brands from $315.00 to $305.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Barclays dropped their price target on Constellation Brands from $309.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Constellation Brands from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $307.00 to $293.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $290.47.

Insider Buying and Selling at Constellation Brands

In related news, CEO William A. Newlands sold 25,000 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 7,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,771,800.92. The trade was a 77.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Sands sold 119,274 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.37, for a total transaction of $28,908,439.38. Following the transaction, the director now owns 431,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $104,638,157.73. This trade represents a 21.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 189,296 shares of company stock worth $45,899,031 in the last quarter. 12.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Constellation Brands Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Constellation Brands stock opened at $238.06 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.25. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $224.76 and a fifty-two week high of $274.87. The company has a fifty day moving average of $243.88 and a 200 day moving average of $247.90. The company has a market capitalization of $43.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.90.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 3rd. The company reported $4.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.08 by $0.24. Constellation Brands had a net margin of 5.29% and a return on equity of 25.34%. The company had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.70 EPS. Constellation Brands’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Constellation Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be paid a dividend of $1.01 per share. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 5th. Constellation Brands’s payout ratio is presently 130.74%.

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.