California Public Employees Retirement System Cuts Stock Holdings in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

California Public Employees Retirement System lessened its holdings in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 609,575 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,223 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.34% of Constellation Brands worth $134,716,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of STZ. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in Constellation Brands during the 4th quarter valued at $4,180,000. Allianz SE purchased a new stake in shares of Constellation Brands during the 4th quarter worth $1,471,000. Allstate Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Constellation Brands during the 4th quarter worth $1,102,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its position in Constellation Brands by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $439,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DnB Asset Management AS grew its stake in Constellation Brands by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 36,173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,994,000 after purchasing an additional 2,968 shares during the last quarter. 77.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Constellation Brands news, Director William T. Giles acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 1,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $272,688.57. This represents a 215.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 12.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on STZ. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $203.00 price target (down from $262.00) on shares of Constellation Brands in a report on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Constellation Brands from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Constellation Brands from $265.00 to $223.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Roth Capital dropped their target price on Constellation Brands from $298.00 to $284.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Citigroup cut Constellation Brands from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $260.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $249.18.

Constellation Brands Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:STZ opened at $183.69 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 12-month low of $160.46 and a 12-month high of $274.87. The business has a 50 day moving average of $177.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $214.50. The company has a market capitalization of $33.20 billion, a PE ratio of 49.38, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.75.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last announced 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 return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 6.27%. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.53 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.19 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.5 EPS for the current year.

Constellation Brands Announces Dividend

The firm 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 108.60%.

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.