Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) Shares Sold by Webster Bank N. A.

Webster Bank N. A. cut its stake in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 19.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,011 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,224 shares during the quarter. Webster Bank N. A.’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $1,107,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in Constellation Brands by 78.3% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 5,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,468,000 after purchasing an additional 2,504 shares during the last quarter. AXA S.A. increased its holdings in Constellation Brands by 54.2% during the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 2,146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $552,000 after acquiring an additional 754 shares in the last quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. raised its position in Constellation Brands by 239.5% during the second quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 18,853 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,526,000 after acquiring an additional 13,300 shares during the last quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Constellation Brands in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,099,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 134,179 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,522,000 after purchasing an additional 9,422 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.34% of the company’s stock.

Constellation Brands Price Performance

STZ opened at $182.99 on Monday. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $176.51 and a 52-week high of $274.87. The company has a 50 day moving average of $221.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $236.20. The company has a market cap of $33.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.91. 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 (NYSE:STZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The company reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by ($0.08). Constellation Brands had a return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 6.27%. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.53 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.19 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Constellation Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.01 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. Constellation Brands’s payout ratio is currently 108.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director William T. Giles acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $186.39 per share, for a total transaction of $186,390.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $272,688.57. This trade represents a 215.98 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO William A. Newlands sold 7,426 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.24, for a total transaction of $1,761,744.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 7,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,725,683.76. This trade represents a 50.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 69,172 shares of company stock valued at $16,778,841. Corporate insiders own 12.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on STZ shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Constellation Brands from $280.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. BMO Capital Markets reduced 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. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $280.00 target price on shares of Constellation Brands in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $282.00 to $214.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $255.00 price objective (down previously from $300.00) on shares of Constellation Brands in a research note on Monday, October 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Constellation Brands has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $259.05.

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.