Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Grows Position in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,928 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 134 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $1,310,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of STZ. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 24.3% during the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,163,000 after acquiring an additional 1,028 shares during the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Constellation Brands by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,247,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. raised its position in Constellation Brands by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 16,356 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,615,000 after purchasing an additional 1,147 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its stake in Constellation Brands by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 2,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $559,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, B & T Capital Management DBA Alpha Capital Management lifted its stake in Constellation Brands by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. B & T Capital Management DBA Alpha Capital Management now owns 17,897 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,955,000 after purchasing an additional 546 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $203.00 price objective (down previously from $262.00) on shares of Constellation Brands in a report on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $280.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $298.00 price objective on shares of Constellation Brands in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Roth Capital cut their target price on shares of 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, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $201.00 price target (down previously from $310.00) on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Monday, January 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $259.05.

Constellation Brands Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:STZ opened at $182.99 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $225.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $238.27. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a twelve month low of $176.51 and a twelve month high of $274.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company has a market capitalization of $33.07 billion, a PE ratio of 49.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.91.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 10th. The company reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.19 EPS. The business’s revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Constellation Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a $1.01 dividend. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 108.60%.

Insider Activity

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

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.