Empire Life Investments Inc. Sells 4,114 Shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Empire Life Investments Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 73,040 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,114 shares during the quarter. Empire Life Investments Inc.’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $16,142,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in STZ. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its position in Constellation Brands by 39.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 6,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,347,000 after buying an additional 1,733 shares in the last quarter. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in Constellation Brands during the fourth quarter worth about $135,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its position in Constellation Brands by 11.3% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 1,305 shares of the company’s stock worth $288,000 after buying an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new position in Constellation Brands during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its position in Constellation Brands by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 62,773 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,980,000 after buying an additional 1,671 shares in the last quarter. 77.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Constellation Brands

In related news, major shareholder Wildstar Partners Llc sold 660 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 1,736,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $418,589,044. This trade represents a 0.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director William T. Giles acquired 1,000 shares of Constellation Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $186.39 per share, with a total value of $186,390.00. Following the transaction, the director now 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 12.19% of the company’s stock.

Constellation Brands Trading Down 0.3 %

STZ opened at $162.69 on Friday. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $160.46 and a one year high of $274.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.73, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $202.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $228.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.46.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last announced its earnings results 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). Constellation Brands had a return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 6.27%. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.19 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.5 EPS for the current year.

Constellation Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 108.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI reduced 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. Barclays cut their price objective on Constellation Brands from $282.00 to $214.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $203.00 price objective (down from $262.00) on shares of Constellation Brands in a report on Monday, January 13th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Constellation Brands from $255.00 to $190.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, BNP Paribas began coverage on Constellation Brands in a report on Monday, November 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $261.00 price objective for the company. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $254.29.

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.