Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 585 Shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its position in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 6.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,508 shares of the company’s stock after selling 585 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $1,880,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Constellation Brands in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Constellation Brands in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new position in shares of Constellation Brands in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in shares of Constellation Brands in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 887.5% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. 77.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Constellation Brands

In other Constellation Brands news, Director William T. Giles bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $186.39 per share, with a total value of $186,390.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,463 shares in the company, valued at $272,688.57. This trade represents a 215.98 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 12.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Constellation Brands Price Performance

Constellation Brands stock opened at $177.73 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $177.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $217.28. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $160.46 and a 1 year high of $274.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 1.10.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.19 EPS. Constellation Brands’s revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Constellation Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $1.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 108.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on STZ shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Constellation Brands from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Constellation Brands from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $220.00 to $202.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $240.00 price objective on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Monday, January 27th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Monday, November 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $261.00 price target for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered shares of Constellation Brands from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $245.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $250.41.

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.