Southern Style Financial Inc. Buys Shares of 13,891 Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Southern Style Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 13,891 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,074,000. Constellation Brands accounts for approximately 2.5% of Southern Style Financial Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in STZ. Oakworth Capital Inc. lifted its holdings in Constellation Brands by 4.4% during the third quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 989 shares of the company’s stock worth $255,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 1,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC increased its stake in Constellation Brands by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 5,570 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,435,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its holdings in Constellation Brands by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 858 shares of the company’s stock worth $221,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL lifted its stake in Constellation Brands by 4.6% in the third quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 1,158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $298,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $201.00 price objective (down from $310.00) on shares of Constellation Brands in a report on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Constellation Brands from $280.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $298.00 price objective on shares of Constellation Brands in a report on Friday, October 4th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $308.00 target price on shares of Constellation Brands in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $315.00 to $305.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned 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 $257.14.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO William A. Newlands sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.58, for a total value of $6,089,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 7,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,771,800.92. The trade was a 77.46 % 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, EVP James A. Jr. Sabia sold 36,086 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,042 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,898,045.58. This represents a 69.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 61,746 shares of company stock valued at $15,017,097. 12.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Constellation Brands Stock Down 2.5 %

STZ opened at $183.16 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $220.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $235.70. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $176.51 and a 1-year high of $274.87. The stock has a market cap of $33.10 billion, a PE ratio of 49.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 10th. The company reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.33 by ($0.08). Constellation Brands had a net margin of 6.27% and a return on equity of 26.55%. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.19 earnings per share. Constellation Brands’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Constellation Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.01 per share. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 108.60%.

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.