Pacer Advisors Inc. Increases Position in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 31.6% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 28,882 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,938 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $7,443,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,335,976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $343,717,000 after buying an additional 72,637 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 31.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,002,332 shares of the company’s stock worth $257,865,000 after acquiring an additional 241,982 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 50.9% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 975,589 shares of the company’s stock worth $265,099,000 after acquiring an additional 328,881 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 23,184.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 499,689 shares of the company’s stock valued at $128,765,000 after purchasing an additional 497,543 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Constellation Brands during the 2nd quarter valued at $119,394,000. Institutional investors own 77.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Samuel J. Glaetzer sold 1,510 shares of Constellation Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.57, for a total transaction of $370,810.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,220,482.90. This trade represents a 23.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP James A. Jr. Sabia sold 36,086 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 16,042 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,898,045.58. This represents a 69.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 189,956 shares of company stock worth $46,058,091 in the last three months. 12.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $308.00 price target on shares of Constellation Brands in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Constellation Brands from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 9th. TD Cowen lowered Constellation Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $300.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Constellation Brands from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $255.00 target price (down previously from $300.00) on shares of Constellation Brands in a report on Monday, October 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Constellation Brands currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $290.47.

Constellation Brands Stock Performance

Shares of STZ opened at $239.66 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $243.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $247.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.51 billion, a PE ratio of 77.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.90. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $224.76 and a one year high of $274.87.

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

Constellation Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th were given a $1.01 dividend. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 5th. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 130.74%.

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.