Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) Shares Sold by Griffin Asset Management Inc.

Griffin Asset Management Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 12.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 8,101 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,115 shares during the quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $1,790,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in Constellation Brands by 78.3% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 5,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,468,000 after acquiring an additional 2,504 shares in the last quarter. AXA S.A. boosted its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 54.2% in the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 2,146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $552,000 after purchasing an additional 754 shares during the period. APG Asset Management N.V. grew its stake in Constellation Brands by 239.5% during the 2nd quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 18,853 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,526,000 after buying an additional 13,300 shares during the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in Constellation Brands during the second quarter worth approximately $1,106,000. Finally, Creative Planning lifted its stake in Constellation Brands by 2.2% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 53,487 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,761,000 after buying an additional 1,162 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on STZ. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $255.00 target price (down from $300.00) on shares of Constellation Brands in a report on Monday, October 7th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $265.00 to $223.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Constellation Brands from $295.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Constellation Brands from $300.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Constellation Brands from $282.00 to $214.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Constellation Brands currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $257.14.

Insider Transactions at Constellation Brands

In other Constellation Brands news, CEO William A. Newlands sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.58, for a total value of $6,089,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 7,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,771,800.92. This represents a 77.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director William T. Giles bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $186.39 per share, for a total transaction of $186,390.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,463 shares in the company, valued at $272,688.57. This represents a 215.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 61,746 shares of company stock worth $15,017,097. 12.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Constellation Brands Stock Performance

Constellation Brands stock opened at $187.84 on Tuesday. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $176.51 and a 12 month high of $274.87. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $221.02 and its 200-day moving average is $236.20. 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 company has a market cap of $33.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.75.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 10th. The company reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by ($0.08). Constellation Brands had a net margin of 6.27% and a return on equity of 26.55%. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.19 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Constellation Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.01 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. Constellation Brands’s payout ratio is 108.60%.

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.