Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) Stock Holdings Lessened by Kavar Capital Partners Group LLC

Kavar Capital Partners Group LLC cut its stake in shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 16,347 shares of the company’s stock after selling 76 shares during the quarter. Kavar Capital Partners Group LLC’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $3,613,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of STZ. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Constellation Brands by 78.3% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 5,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,468,000 after purchasing an additional 2,504 shares in the last quarter. AXA S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 54.2% in the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 2,146 shares of the company’s stock worth $552,000 after buying an additional 754 shares during the period. APG Asset Management N.V. increased its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 239.5% in the second quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 18,853 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,526,000 after acquiring an additional 13,300 shares in the last quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Constellation Brands during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,099,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 134,179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,522,000 after acquiring an additional 9,422 shares in the last quarter. 77.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Constellation Brands Stock Up 1.9 %

Constellation Brands stock opened at $182.99 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. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $176.51 and a fifty-two week high of $274.87. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $221.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $236.20. The firm has a market cap of $33.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.91.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 10th. The company reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.33 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $2.46 billion for 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%. Constellation Brands’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.19 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Constellation Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $1.01 per share. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 108.60%.

Insider Activity at Constellation Brands

In other news, Director William T. Giles bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $272,688.57. This trade represents a 215.98 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO William A. Newlands sold 25,000 shares of Constellation Brands stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.58, for a total transaction of $6,089,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 7,274 shares in the company, valued at $1,771,800.92. This represents a 77.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 69,172 shares of company stock worth $16,778,841 in the last ninety days. 12.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on STZ. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $295.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Constellation Brands from $282.00 to $214.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $203.00 price target (down from $262.00) on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Argus downgraded shares of Constellation Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $308.00 price objective on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $259.05.

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.