Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) Shares Sold by Gateway Investment Advisers LLC

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC reduced its stake in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 8.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,281 shares of the company’s stock after selling 219 shares during the quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $504,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of STZ. State Street Corp raised its position in Constellation Brands by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,144,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,841,048,000 after purchasing an additional 402,211 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,853,081 shares of the company’s stock worth $477,515,000 after purchasing an additional 21,454 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in Constellation Brands by 5.7% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,335,976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $343,717,000 after buying an additional 72,637 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Constellation Brands by 23,184.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 499,689 shares of the company’s stock worth $128,765,000 after buying an additional 497,543 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service boosted its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 381,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,374,000 after acquiring an additional 45,707 shares in the last quarter. 77.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Constellation Brands Trading Down 0.3 %

Constellation Brands stock opened at $184.05 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $226.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $238.96. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $176.51 and a 52 week high of $274.87. The stock has a market cap of $33.42 billion, a PE ratio of 49.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The company reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.53 billion. Constellation Brands had a return on equity of 25.34% and a net margin of 5.29%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.19 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Constellation Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.01 per share. This represents a $4.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 108.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on STZ. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $308.00 target price on shares of Constellation Brands in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $255.00 target price (down previously from $300.00) on shares of Constellation Brands in a report on Monday, October 7th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $265.00 to $223.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Constellation Brands from $295.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $203.00 price objective (down from $262.00) on shares of Constellation Brands in a report on Monday, January 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $259.05.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Wildstar Partners Llc sold 660 shares of Constellation Brands stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.00, for a total value of $159,060.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,736,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $418,589,044. This trade represents a 0.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP James A. Jr. Sabia sold 36,086 shares of Constellation Brands stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.99, for a total value of $8,768,537.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,042 shares in the company, valued at $3,898,045.58. This represents a 69.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 69,172 shares of company stock valued at $16,778,841 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 12.19% of the company’s stock.

Constellation Brands Company 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.