Xcel Wealth Management LLC Has $1.35 Million Stock Position in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Xcel Wealth Management LLC cut its holdings in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,104 shares of the company’s stock after selling 292 shares during the period. Xcel Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $1,349,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp raised 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 last quarter. Copperleaf Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Constellation Brands in the fourth quarter valued at $343,000. Grimes & Company Inc. bought a new position in shares of Constellation Brands in the fourth quarter valued at $6,099,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 62.8% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,663,000 after buying an additional 6,391 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Southern Style Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Constellation Brands in the fourth quarter valued at $3,074,000. 77.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on STZ. StockNews.com cut shares of Constellation Brands from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Constellation Brands from $282.00 to $214.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $293.00 price objective on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Constellation Brands from $295.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Argus cut shares of Constellation Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $253.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Constellation Brands news, Director William T. Giles purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $186.39 per share, for a total transaction of $186,390.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 1,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $272,688.57. This represents a 215.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 12.19% of the company’s stock.

Constellation Brands Stock Performance

NYSE:STZ opened at $175.74 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $31.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $189.00 and its 200-day moving average is $223.72. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $160.46 and a 1-year high of $274.87.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last announced 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). 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.19 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Constellation Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $1.01 dividend. This represents a $4.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Constellation Brands’s 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.