Financial Counselors Inc. Boosts Stake in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Financial Counselors Inc. grew its stake in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 1.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,344 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 233 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $6,273,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in STZ. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 23,184.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 499,689 shares of the company’s stock worth $128,765,000 after purchasing an additional 497,543 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Constellation Brands in the second quarter valued at $119,394,000. Boston Partners increased its holdings in Constellation Brands by 50.9% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 975,589 shares of the company’s stock valued at $265,099,000 after buying an additional 328,881 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Constellation Brands by 31.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,002,332 shares of the company’s stock valued at $257,865,000 after buying an additional 241,982 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coho Partners Ltd. increased its holdings in Constellation Brands by 40.1% in the third quarter. Coho Partners Ltd. now owns 283,079 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,947,000 after buying an additional 80,970 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Wildstar Partners Llc sold 660 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.00, for a total transaction of $159,060.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,736,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $418,589,044. This represents a 0.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO William A. Newlands sold 7,426 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.24, for a total transaction of $1,761,744.24. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 7,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,725,683.76. The trade was a 50.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 189,956 shares of company stock valued at $46,058,091. Company insiders own 12.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on STZ shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Constellation Brands from $307.00 to $293.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $315.00 to $305.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $308.00 target price on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Monday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $261.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $305.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $289.16.

Constellation Brands Price Performance

Shares of STZ stock opened at $235.97 on Friday. 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’s 50-day moving average is $241.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $246.92. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $224.76 and a 12 month high of $274.87. The company has a market capitalization of $42.84 billion, a PE ratio of 76.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.90.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 3rd. The company reported $4.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.08 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. Constellation Brands had a net margin of 5.29% and a return on equity of 25.34%. The business’s revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.70 EPS. Analysts predict that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Constellation Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th were paid a $1.01 dividend. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 5th. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 130.74%.

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.