Grimes & Company Inc. Takes $6.10 Million Position in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Grimes & Company Inc. purchased a new position in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 27,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,099,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in STZ. State Street Corp boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 402,211 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in Constellation Brands by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,853,081 shares of the company’s stock worth $477,515,000 after buying an additional 21,454 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in Constellation Brands by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,335,976 shares of the company’s stock worth $343,717,000 after buying an additional 72,637 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 23,184.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 499,689 shares of the company’s stock valued at $128,765,000 after purchasing an additional 497,543 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service increased its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 381,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,374,000 after purchasing an additional 45,707 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Constellation Brands

In other Constellation Brands news, major shareholder Wildstar Partners Llc sold 660 shares of Constellation Brands stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.00, for a total value of $159,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,736,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $418,589,044. The trade was a 0.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director William T. Giles bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $186.39 per share, with a total value of $186,390.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,463 shares in the company, valued at approximately $272,688.57. This trade represents a 215.98 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 69,172 shares of company stock valued at $16,778,841. 12.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Constellation Brands Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of Constellation Brands stock opened at $182.99 on Friday. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $176.51 and a 1 year high of $274.87. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $221.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $236.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. 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.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last posted 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). The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.53 billion. Constellation Brands had a return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 6.27%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.19 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Constellation Brands Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $308.00 price objective on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Constellation Brands from $282.00 to $214.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $270.00 to $260.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $295.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $201.00 price target (down previously from $310.00) on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Monday, January 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.