Mackenzie Financial Corp Sells 19,474 Shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Mackenzie Financial Corp trimmed its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 11.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 148,529 shares of the company’s stock after selling 19,474 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $35,907,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 2.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,601,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,902,327,000 after buying an additional 313,344 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in Constellation Brands by 1.5% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,050,468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,018,005,000 after purchasing an additional 58,518 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Constellation Brands by 84,839.5% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,742,434 shares of the company’s stock valued at $867,309,000 after purchasing an additional 3,738,028 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Constellation Brands by 102.0% during the second quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,937,570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $723,027,000 after purchasing an additional 1,483,668 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Constellation Brands by 1.8% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,863,322 shares of the company’s stock valued at $645,055,000 after purchasing an additional 50,672 shares during the period. 77.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on STZ. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Constellation Brands from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Argus upgraded shares of Constellation Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $306.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $309.00 to $301.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $298.55.

Constellation Brands Price Performance

Shares of STZ opened at $257.31 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.04 billion, a PE ratio of 27.43, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.97. The company’s 50-day moving average is $257.51 and its 200-day moving average is $247.13. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $221.81 and a fifty-two week high of $274.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. Constellation Brands had a net margin of 16.13% and a return on equity of 23.06%. The company’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.98 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.5 EPS for the current year.

Constellation Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd will be paid a $1.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 2nd. This is an increase from Constellation Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. This represents a $4.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio is 37.95%.

Insider Activity at Constellation Brands

In related news, EVP James A. Jr. Sabia sold 15,781 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.63, for a total value of $4,160,345.03. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,910 shares in the company, valued at $5,512,503.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 16.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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 Premier, Corona Familiar, Corona Light, Corona Refresca, Corona Hard Seltzer, Modelo Especial, Modelo Negra, Modelo Chelada, Victoria, Vicky Chamoy, and Pacifico brands.