Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Grows Stock Holdings in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,988 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $439,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in STZ. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 1,844.7% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 924,274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $204,265,000 after buying an additional 876,745 shares during the last quarter. Copperleaf Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Constellation Brands during the fourth quarter worth about $343,000. Grimes & Company Inc. purchased a new position in Constellation Brands during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,099,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Constellation Brands by 62.8% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,663,000 after acquiring an additional 6,391 shares during the period. Finally, Southern Style Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Constellation Brands in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,074,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.34% of the company’s stock.

Constellation Brands Price Performance

Shares of STZ stock opened at $183.51 on Tuesday. 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 capitalization of $33.17 billion, a PE ratio of 49.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.75. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $177.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $214.02. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $160.46 and a 12 month high of $274.87.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 10th. The company reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.53 billion. Constellation Brands had a net margin of 6.27% and a return on equity of 26.55%. The company’s revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.19 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Constellation Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given 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 2.20%. Constellation Brands’s payout ratio is currently 108.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director William T. Giles acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $186.39 per share, for a total transaction of $186,390.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 1,463 shares in the company, valued at $272,688.57. The trade was a 215.98 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 12.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on STZ. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $295.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler lowered shares of Constellation Brands from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $245.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered Constellation Brands from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Constellation Brands from $265.00 to $223.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Constellation Brands from $300.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Constellation Brands currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $249.18.

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.