Franklin Resources Inc. Reduces Stake in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Franklin Resources Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 72.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 215,468 shares of the company’s stock after selling 576,007 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.12% of Constellation Brands worth $47,618,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in Constellation Brands by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 7,357 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,626,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. BSW Wealth Partners raised its stake in Constellation Brands by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 1,563 shares of the company’s stock worth $345,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC lifted its holdings in Constellation Brands by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC now owns 923 shares of the company’s stock worth $204,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Oak Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Constellation Brands by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Oak Asset Management LLC now owns 17,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,892,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barden Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Barden Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,232,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Constellation Brands

In other Constellation Brands news, Director William T. Giles acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $186.39 per share, for a total transaction of $186,390.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,463 shares of the company’s stock, 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 SEC, which is accessible through this link. 12.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

STZ has been the topic of several research reports. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Constellation Brands from $270.00 to $260.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $300.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Argus cut shares of Constellation Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Constellation Brands from $265.00 to $223.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Citigroup lowered shares of Constellation Brands from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $260.00 to $200.00 in a report on Thursday, March 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $244.32.

Constellation Brands Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE STZ opened at $173.79 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $177.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $212.55. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $160.46 and a 52-week high of $274.87. The company has a market cap of $31.41 billion, a PE ratio of 46.72, 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 issued its earnings results 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 company 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 prior year, the business posted $3.19 EPS. As a group, 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. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $1.01 per share. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 108.60%.

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.