Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Buys 104 Shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its stake in shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 55.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 291 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $64,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Constellation Brands by 13.3% in the 4th 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 last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 6.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,144,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,841,048,000 after purchasing an additional 402,211 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Constellation Brands by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,176,095 shares of the company’s stock valued at $482,919,000 after purchasing an additional 253,445 shares during the period. 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 valued at $477,515,000 after purchasing an additional 21,454 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Constellation Brands by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,782,964 shares of the company’s stock worth $394,035,000 after buying an additional 38,786 shares during the period. 77.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

STZ has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Constellation Brands from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Constellation Brands from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $220.00 to $202.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup cut shares of Constellation Brands from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $260.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $203.00 price objective (down from $262.00) on shares of Constellation Brands in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Constellation Brands from $295.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Constellation Brands has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $249.18.

Insider Transactions at Constellation Brands

In related news, Director William T. Giles bought 1,000 shares of the company’s 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 acquisition, the director now owns 1,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $272,688.57. This trade represents a 215.98 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 12.19% of the company’s stock.

Constellation Brands Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE STZ opened at $183.69 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $33.20 billion, a PE ratio of 49.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 1.10. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $177.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $214.50. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $160.46 and a 52-week high of $274.87.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The company reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the business posted $3.19 EPS. On average, 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $1.01 per share. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Constellation Brands’s payout ratio 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.