HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 9,547 Shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 228,141 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,547 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned about 0.13% of Constellation Brands worth $50,419,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 37.1% during the 3rd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 1,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $352,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in Constellation Brands by 8.2% in the third quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,330 shares of the company’s stock valued at $343,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc increased its stake in Constellation Brands by 2.3% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 7,381 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,902,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its stake in Constellation Brands by 35.0% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 12,802 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,299,000 after acquiring an additional 3,321 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kovack Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Constellation Brands by 52.1% in the third quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 3,830 shares of the company’s stock valued at $987,000 after acquiring an additional 1,312 shares during the last quarter. 77.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Constellation Brands

In related news, Director William T. Giles purchased 1,000 shares of Constellation Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 1,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $272,688.57. This represents a 215.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 12.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Constellation Brands Price Performance

STZ stock opened at $181.41 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $181.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $219.80. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 12-month low of $160.46 and a 12-month high of $274.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.77, a PEG 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 announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 6.27% and a return on equity of 26.55%. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.19 EPS. Constellation Brands’s quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Constellation Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $1.01 per share. This represents a $4.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 108.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on STZ. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Constellation Brands from $295.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Argus cut Constellation Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $240.00 target price on shares of Constellation Brands in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $201.00 target price (down previously from $310.00) on shares of Constellation Brands in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Constellation Brands in a research note on Monday, November 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $261.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Constellation Brands presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $252.81.

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.