Intact Investment Management Inc. Acquires 590 Shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Intact Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,000 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 590 shares during the quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $4,199,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 1,844.7% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 924,274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $204,265,000 after purchasing an additional 876,745 shares during the last quarter. Copperleaf Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Constellation Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $343,000. Grimes & Company Inc. bought a new position in shares of Constellation Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $6,099,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 62.8% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,663,000 after purchasing an additional 6,391 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Southern Style Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Constellation Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,074,000. Institutional investors own 77.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on STZ. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $214.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Argus lowered shares of Constellation Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Constellation Brands from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $220.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Constellation Brands in a research note on Monday, November 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $261.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Constellation Brands from $270.00 to $260.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $252.81.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director William T. Giles bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $186.39 per share, for a total transaction of $186,390.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 1,463 shares in the company, valued at approximately $272,688.57. This represents a 215.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 12.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Constellation Brands Price Performance

NYSE STZ opened at $181.46 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 12-month low of $160.46 and a 12-month high of $274.87. The company has a market capitalization of $32.79 billion, a PE ratio of 48.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.75. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $180.58 and its 200-day moving average is $219.38.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by ($0.08). Constellation Brands had a net margin of 6.27% and a return on equity of 26.55%. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.19 earnings per share. Constellation Brands’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Constellation Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $1.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 108.60%.

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.