Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Acquires 104 Shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its stake in shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 55.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 291 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 104 shares during the quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $64,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,534,787 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,433,188,000 after acquiring an additional 1,821,969 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Constellation Brands by 1,844.7% during the fourth 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. purchased a new stake in Constellation Brands in the fourth quarter worth $105,766,000. State Street Corp increased its position in Constellation Brands by 6.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,144,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,841,048,000 after buying an additional 402,211 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,176,095 shares of the company’s stock valued at $482,919,000 after buying an additional 253,445 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.34% of the company’s stock.

Constellation Brands Price Performance

STZ stock opened at $183.69 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $177.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $214.50. 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 has a market cap of $33.20 billion, a PE ratio of 49.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.75. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $160.46 and a one year high of $274.87.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last announced 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). Constellation Brands had a return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 6.27%. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.19 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Constellation Brands Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio is 108.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Constellation Brands news, Director William T. Giles purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $186.39 per share, with a total value of $186,390.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 1,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $272,688.57. The trade was a 215.98 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 12.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on STZ. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Constellation Brands from $265.00 to $223.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup lowered shares of Constellation Brands from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $260.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Constellation Brands from $270.00 to $260.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Constellation Brands from $205.00 to $203.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on Constellation Brands from $240.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. One equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Constellation Brands currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $249.18.

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.