Tranquility Partners LLC Sells 416 Shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Tranquility Partners LLC decreased its stake in shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 11.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,265 shares of the company’s stock after selling 416 shares during the period. Tranquility Partners LLC’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $722,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 876,745 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 497,543 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Constellation Brands by 6.0% in 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 raised its holdings in Constellation Brands by 66.3% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 369,966 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,762,000 after purchasing an additional 147,457 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NFJ Investment Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 617.3% during the third quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC now owns 108,382 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,929,000 after buying an additional 93,273 shares during the last quarter. 77.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Constellation Brands news, Director William T. Giles purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $186.39 per share, with a total value of $186,390.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $272,688.57. This represents a 215.98 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Wildstar Partners Llc sold 660 shares of Constellation Brands stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.00, for a total value of $159,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,736,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $418,589,044. This trade represents a 0.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 12.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

STZ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Constellation Brands from $295.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $203.00 price target (down from $262.00) on shares of Constellation Brands in a report on Monday, January 13th. Argus lowered Constellation Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays dropped their target price on Constellation Brands from $282.00 to $214.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Roth Capital decreased their price target on Constellation Brands from $298.00 to $284.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $254.29.

Constellation Brands Price Performance

Shares of Constellation Brands stock opened at $161.11 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $29.12 billion, a PE ratio of 43.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.90. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a twelve month low of $160.46 and a twelve month high of $274.87. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $205.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $229.94. 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 released its earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The company reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by ($0.08). The business 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.19 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict 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 2.51%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Constellation Brands’s payout ratio is currently 108.60%.

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.