Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC Cuts Stake in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,768 shares of the company’s stock after selling 155 shares during the quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $1,496,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 6.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,144,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,841,048,000 after purchasing an additional 402,211 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Constellation Brands by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,853,081 shares of the company’s stock valued at $477,515,000 after buying an additional 21,454 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in Constellation Brands by 5.7% during the 2nd 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 grew 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 valued at $128,765,000 after buying an additional 497,543 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service grew its holdings in Constellation Brands by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 381,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,374,000 after buying an additional 45,707 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Constellation Brands

In other news, EVP James A. Jr. Sabia sold 36,086 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.99, for a total transaction of $8,768,537.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,898,045.58. The trade was a 69.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO William A. Newlands sold 7,426 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.24, for a total value of $1,761,744.24. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 7,274 shares in the company, valued at $1,725,683.76. This trade represents a 50.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 69,172 shares of company stock worth $16,778,841 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 12.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

STZ has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays cut their price target on Constellation Brands from $282.00 to $214.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Constellation Brands from $295.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Constellation Brands from $300.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Constellation Brands from $315.00 to $305.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $298.00 target price on shares of Constellation Brands in a report on Friday, October 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Constellation Brands has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $259.05.

Constellation Brands Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE STZ opened at $182.99 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $33.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.91. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $221.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $236.43. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $176.51 and a 1 year high of $274.87.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The company reported $3.25 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.19 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Constellation Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a $1.01 dividend. This represents a $4.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 108.60%.

Constellation Brands 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.