New Mexico Educational Retirement Board Reduces Stake in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

New Mexico Educational Retirement Board lowered its position in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 6.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,421 shares of the company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the period. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $1,640,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in Constellation Brands by 6.0% in the third 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 during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in Constellation Brands by 1.2% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,853,081 shares of the company’s stock valued at $477,515,000 after buying an additional 21,454 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Constellation Brands by 1,844.7% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 924,274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $204,265,000 after acquiring an additional 876,745 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 497,543 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service lifted its holdings in Constellation Brands by 13.6% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 381,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,374,000 after acquiring an additional 45,707 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Constellation Brands

In other news, Director William T. Giles bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $186.39 per share, with a total value of $186,390.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 1,463 shares in the company, valued at approximately $272,688.57. The trade was 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 the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Wildstar Partners Llc sold 660 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.00, for a total value of $159,060.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 12.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Constellation Brands Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of STZ opened at $162.69 on Monday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $29.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.73, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $201.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $228.31.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last issued its 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 company had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.53 billion. Constellation Brands had a net margin of 6.27% and a return on equity of 26.55%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.19 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Constellation Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $1.01 dividend. This represents a $4.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Constellation Brands’s payout ratio is currently 108.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on STZ shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Constellation Brands from $295.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Constellation Brands from $300.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Constellation Brands from $265.00 to $223.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Constellation Brands from $270.00 to $260.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Argus downgraded Constellation Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $254.29.

Constellation Brands 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.