Forsta AP Fonden Decreases Stock Holdings in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Forsta AP Fonden reduced its holdings in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,500 shares of the company’s stock after selling 900 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $8,066,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp grew its position in Constellation Brands by 6.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,144,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,841,048,000 after acquiring an additional 402,211 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 1.2% in 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 period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 497,543 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service raised 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 during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Constellation Brands by 66.3% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 369,966 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,762,000 after buying an additional 147,457 shares during the last quarter. 77.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on STZ. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $300.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Argus lowered shares of Constellation Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $203.00 target price (down previously from $262.00) on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com downgraded Constellation Brands from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Constellation Brands from $315.00 to $305.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $257.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO William A. Newlands sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.58, for a total transaction of $6,089,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 7,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,771,800.92. This represents a 77.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Wildstar Partners Llc sold 660 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.00, for a total value of $159,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,736,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $418,589,044. This trade represents a 0.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 61,746 shares of company stock worth $15,017,097 in the last 90 days. 12.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Constellation Brands Stock Performance

Shares of STZ stock opened at $184.32 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $33.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.55, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.91. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $176.51 and a 52-week high of $274.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company’s 50 day moving average is $217.72 and its 200 day moving average is $234.79.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last released 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 return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 6.27%. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.19 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a $1.01 dividend. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Constellation Brands’s payout ratio is currently 108.60%.

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.