Leeward Investments LLC MA Sells 1,238 Shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Leeward Investments LLC MA trimmed its position in shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 35,751 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,238 shares during the quarter. Leeward Investments LLC MA’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $7,901,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in Constellation Brands by 6.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,144,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,841,048,000 after acquiring an additional 402,211 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in Constellation Brands by 1.2% in the third 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. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Constellation Brands by 1,844.7% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 924,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $204,265,000 after purchasing an additional 876,745 shares during the period. National Pension Service lifted its position in Constellation Brands by 13.6% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 381,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,374,000 after purchasing 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 purchasing an additional 147,457 shares during the period. 77.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Constellation Brands news, Director William T. Giles purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $186.39 per share, for a total transaction of $186,390.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,463 shares in the company, valued at $272,688.57. This represents a 215.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 12.19% of the company’s stock.

Constellation Brands Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE STZ opened at $176.00 on Monday. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $160.46 and a 1-year 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 50-day moving average of $194.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $225.71. The company has a market cap of $31.81 billion, a PE ratio of 47.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.75.

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 firm had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.53 billion. Constellation Brands had a return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 6.27%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.19 EPS. As a group, equities 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $1.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. Constellation Brands’s payout ratio is 108.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on STZ. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price 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 Capital lowered 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. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Constellation Brands in a research note on Monday, November 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $261.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Constellation Brands from $300.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Argus downgraded Constellation Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $254.29.

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.