Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) Shares Sold by GHP Investment Advisors Inc.

GHP Investment Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,807 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,827 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $7,029,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 23,184.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 499,689 shares of the company’s stock valued at $128,765,000 after buying an additional 497,543 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 6.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Constellation Brands by 66.3% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 369,966 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,762,000 after acquiring an additional 147,457 shares during the period. NFJ Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in Constellation Brands by 617.3% during the 3rd quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC now owns 108,382 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,929,000 after purchasing an additional 93,273 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 4,601.2% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 87,771 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,618,000 after acquiring an additional 85,904 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.34% of the company’s stock.

Constellation Brands Price Performance

Shares of Constellation Brands stock opened at $172.79 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $211.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $232.31. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a twelve month low of $166.02 and a twelve month high of $274.87.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last issued 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). The business had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.53 billion. Constellation Brands had a net margin of 6.27% and a return on equity of 26.55%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.19 EPS. Analysts forecast that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.52 EPS for the current year.

Constellation Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a $1.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. Constellation Brands’s payout ratio is 108.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on STZ shares. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $265.00 to $223.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Constellation Brands from $282.00 to $214.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $201.00 price target (down from $310.00) on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $293.00 target price on shares of Constellation Brands in a report on Monday. Finally, Roth Capital cut their price objective on Constellation Brands from $298.00 to $284.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Constellation Brands presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $254.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP James A. Jr. Sabia sold 36,086 shares of Constellation Brands stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.99, for a total transaction of $8,768,537.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,042 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,898,045.58. This trade represents a 69.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director William T. Giles bought 1,000 shares of Constellation Brands stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $186.39 per share, with a total value of $186,390.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 61,746 shares of company stock worth $15,017,097. 12.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.