Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. cut its stake in shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,188 shares of the company’s stock after selling 77 shares during the period. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $926,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of STZ. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Constellation Brands during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Constellation Brands during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new position in shares of Constellation Brands in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in shares of Constellation Brands in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Constellation Brands by 887.5% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. 77.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI dropped their price target 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 Constellation Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of Constellation Brands from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Constellation Brands from $270.00 to $260.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded shares of Constellation Brands from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $260.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $250.41.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director William T. Giles purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 acquisition, the director now owns 1,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $272,688.57. This represents a 215.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 12.19% of the company’s stock.

Constellation Brands Stock Performance

Shares of Constellation Brands stock opened at $177.73 on Friday. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $160.46 and a 12 month high of $274.87. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $177.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $217.28. The firm has a market cap of $32.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last posted 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 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 the consensus estimate of $2.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.19 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Constellation Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $1.01 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.