W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co Trims Stake in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co cut its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 74,694 shares of the company’s stock after selling 525 shares during the period. Constellation Brands comprises about 1.7% of W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $16,507,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of STZ. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Constellation Brands by 1,844.7% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 924,274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $204,265,000 after acquiring an additional 876,745 shares during the last quarter. Copperleaf Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Constellation Brands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $343,000. Grimes & Company Inc. purchased a new position in Constellation Brands during the fourth quarter worth $6,099,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Constellation Brands by 62.8% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,663,000 after purchasing an additional 6,391 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Southern Style Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Constellation Brands during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,074,000. 77.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Constellation Brands Price Performance

NYSE STZ opened at $176.00 on Monday. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average price is $194.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $225.71. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $160.46 and a 1 year high of $274.87. The company has a market cap of $31.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.31, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.75.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The company reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.53 billion. Constellation Brands had a return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 6.27%. The firm’s revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.19 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Constellation Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $1.01 per share. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 108.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Constellation Brands from $300.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Constellation Brands from $295.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $201.00 target price (down from $310.00) on shares of Constellation Brands in a research note on Monday, January 13th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Constellation Brands from $270.00 to $260.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $240.00 price objective on shares of Constellation Brands in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $254.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Constellation Brands news, Director William T. Giles purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $186.39 per share, for a total transaction of $186,390.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 1,463 shares in the company, valued at $272,688.57. The trade was a 215.98 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 12.19% of the company’s stock.

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.