First Financial Bank Trust Division Reduces Stake in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

First Financial Bank Trust Division lowered its position in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 34.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,003 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,805 shares during the period. First Financial Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $3,758,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Copley Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Constellation Brands during the 3rd quarter valued at about $455,000. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new position in shares of Constellation Brands in the third quarter worth approximately $223,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its position in Constellation Brands by 260.7% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 20,495 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,281,000 after buying an additional 14,813 shares during the period. Arvest Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in Constellation Brands during the third quarter valued at approximately $243,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Constellation Brands by 36.6% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $657,000 after buying an additional 683 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on STZ. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Constellation Brands from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Constellation Brands from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $255.00 price target (down previously from $300.00) on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Monday, October 7th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Constellation Brands from $315.00 to $305.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $288.70.

Constellation Brands Price Performance

STZ stock traded up $1.57 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $222.57. The company had a trading volume of 1,130,749 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,237,062. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $234.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $243.77. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 12-month low of $219.54 and a 12-month high of $274.87. The company has a market capitalization of $40.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 3rd. The company reported $4.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.08 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. Constellation Brands had a return on equity of 25.34% and a net margin of 5.29%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.70 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Constellation Brands news, Director Robert Sands sold 119,274 shares of Constellation Brands stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.37, for a total value of $28,908,439.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 431,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $104,638,157.73. This trade represents a 21.65 % 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 business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.00, for a total transaction of $159,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,736,884 shares in the company, 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 have sold a total of 189,956 shares of company stock valued at $46,058,091 in the last quarter. 12.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.