Naviter Wealth LLC Makes New Investment in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Naviter Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $412,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of STZ. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 1,844.7% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 924,274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $204,265,000 after buying an additional 876,745 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Constellation Brands during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $105,766,000. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 6.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,144,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,841,048,000 after buying an additional 402,211 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 66.3% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 369,966 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,762,000 after buying an additional 147,457 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Constellation Brands during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,119,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on STZ shares. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $270.00 to $260.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $265.00 to $223.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $203.00 price objective (down previously from $262.00) on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Constellation Brands from $300.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Constellation Brands from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $220.00 to $202.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $253.24.

Insider Transactions at Constellation Brands

In other news, Director William T. Giles acquired 1,000 shares of Constellation Brands stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $186.39 per share, with a total value of $186,390.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,463 shares in the company, valued at approximately $272,688.57. This trade represents a 215.98 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 12.19% of the company’s stock.

Constellation Brands Stock Up 4.3 %

STZ opened at $186.64 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $184.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $221.29. 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 company has a market capitalization of $33.73 billion, a PE ratio of 50.17, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.75. 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 quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 10th. The company reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by ($0.08). The firm 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.19 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.5 EPS for the current year.

Constellation Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $1.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.