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

California Public Employees Retirement System lessened its position in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 609,575 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,223 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $134,716,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in STZ. Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in Constellation Brands by 16.5% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 3,908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,007,000 after purchasing an additional 554 shares in the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Constellation Brands in the third quarter valued at about $565,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 3.5% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 5,904 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,521,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY boosted its position in Constellation Brands by 3.9% during the third quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY now owns 8,785 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,264,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new stake in Constellation Brands during the 3rd quarter valued at about $13,619,000. 77.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Constellation Brands Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of STZ opened at $183.69 on Monday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $177.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $214.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 1.10. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $160.46 and a 1 year high of $274.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.20 billion, a PE ratio of 49.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.75.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The company reported $3.25 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 business had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.19 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Constellation Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $1.01 dividend. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 108.60%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director William T. Giles bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the purchase, the director now owns 1,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $272,688.57. This represents a 215.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 12.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

STZ has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Constellation Brands from $295.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Roth Capital lowered their price objective 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. UBS Group cut their target price on Constellation Brands from $265.00 to $223.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup cut shares of Constellation Brands from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $260.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Constellation Brands from $293.00 to $289.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus 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.