Checchi Capital Advisers LLC Increases Position in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 10.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,235 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 207 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $494,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. PFG Investments LLC increased its stake in Constellation Brands by 3.8% in the third quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 1,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 3.9% in the third quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 6,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,765,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its stake in Constellation Brands by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 858 shares of the company’s stock worth $221,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Oak Ridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Constellation Brands by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 25,363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,536,000 after buying an additional 1,513 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR boosted its position in Constellation Brands by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 51,453 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,259,000 after buying an additional 1,183 shares during the period. 77.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Constellation Brands Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of STZ stock opened at $173.43 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $190.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $224.16. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $160.46 and a 1-year high of $274.87. The company has a market cap of $31.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.46.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last posted 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). The company had revenue of $2.46 billion for 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 business’s revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.19 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Constellation Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $1.01 per share. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 108.60%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director William T. Giles bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $186.39 per share, with a total value of $186,390.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,463 shares in the company, valued at approximately $272,688.57. The trade was 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 accessible through this link. Insiders own 12.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on STZ shares. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $300.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Constellation Brands from $295.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $201.00 price target (down previously from $310.00) on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Roth Capital cut their price target 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, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Constellation Brands from $270.00 to $260.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $253.43.

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.