Financial Counselors Inc. Sells 1,459 Shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Financial Counselors Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 22,885 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,459 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $5,058,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 1,844.7% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 924,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $204,265,000 after buying an additional 876,745 shares during the last quarter. Copperleaf Capital LLC bought a new position in Constellation Brands in the fourth quarter valued at $343,000. Grimes & Company Inc. purchased a new stake in Constellation Brands during the fourth quarter valued at about $6,099,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Constellation Brands by 62.8% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,575 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,663,000 after purchasing an additional 6,391 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Southern Style Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Constellation Brands during the fourth quarter worth about $3,074,000. 77.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Constellation Brands Price Performance

Shares of Constellation Brands stock opened at $184.05 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $177.20 and a 200 day moving average of $215.67. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $160.46 and a 52 week high of $274.87. The company has a market cap of $33.26 billion, a PE ratio of 49.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The company reported $3.25 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 return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 6.27%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.19 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Constellation Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $1.01 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. Constellation Brands’s payout ratio is 108.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

STZ has been the topic of a number of research reports. Argus cut Constellation Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Constellation Brands from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $245.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup cut shares of Constellation Brands from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $260.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. StockNews.com cut shares of Constellation Brands from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $300.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $250.41.

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 bought at an average cost of $186.39 per share, for a total transaction of $186,390.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly 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 acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 12.19% of the company’s stock.

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.