Natixis Advisors LLC Purchases 30,862 Shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 37.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 113,393 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 30,862 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $29,220,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Constellation Brands by 1.1% in the first quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 3,676 shares of the company’s stock valued at $999,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Oakworth Capital Inc. lifted its stake in Constellation Brands by 4.4% in the third quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC lifted its stake in Constellation Brands by 3.8% in the third quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 1,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $296,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Constellation Brands by 4.7% in the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $244,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Constellation Brands by 4.4% in the first quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,049 shares of the company’s stock valued at $285,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

STZ has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Constellation Brands from $305.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $308.00 price target on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $298.00 target price on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Friday, October 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Constellation Brands from $307.00 to $293.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Constellation Brands from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Constellation Brands presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $290.47.

Constellation Brands Price Performance

Shares of STZ stock opened at $237.51 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a twelve month low of $224.76 and a twelve month high of $274.87. The company has a market cap of $43.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 76.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $244.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $248.01.

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

Constellation Brands Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP James A. Jr. Sabia sold 36,086 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.99, for a total value of $8,768,537.14. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,898,045.58. This represents a 69.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO William A. Newlands sold 7,426 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.24, for a total value of $1,761,744.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 7,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,725,683.76. The trade was a 50.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 189,296 shares of company stock valued at $45,899,031 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 12.19% of the company’s stock.

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.