Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) Shares Sold by Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp reduced its position in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 71,882 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,551 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $15,886,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,534,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,433,188,000 after acquiring an additional 1,821,969 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,144,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,841,048,000 after purchasing an additional 402,211 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in Constellation Brands by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,853,081 shares of the company’s stock worth $477,515,000 after purchasing an additional 21,454 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Constellation Brands by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,782,964 shares of the company’s stock worth $394,035,000 after purchasing an additional 38,786 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Constellation Brands by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,372,485 shares of the company’s stock worth $303,319,000 after purchasing an additional 25,110 shares in the last quarter. 77.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on STZ shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $203.00 target price (down from $262.00) on shares of Constellation Brands in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $201.00 price objective (down from $310.00) on shares of Constellation Brands in a report on Monday, January 13th. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $240.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Evercore ISI decreased 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. Finally, Citigroup lowered Constellation Brands from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $260.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Constellation Brands has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $249.18.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William T. Giles purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $186.39 per share, for a total transaction of $186,390.00. Following the purchase, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 12.19% of the company’s stock.

Constellation Brands Trading Down 0.3 %

STZ opened at $183.69 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 1.10. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $160.46 and a one year high of $274.87. The company has a market cap of $33.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.38, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.75. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $177.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $214.99.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.19 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Constellation Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $1.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio 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.