Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) Shares Sold by First National Trust Co

First National Trust Co cut its stake in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 62.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,888 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,345 shares during the period. First National Trust Co’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $2,185,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in STZ. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 876,745 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Constellation Brands during the fourth quarter worth about $105,766,000. State Street Corp grew its position 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 worth $1,841,048,000 after acquiring an additional 402,211 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 54.9% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 453,180 shares of the company’s stock worth $99,373,000 after acquiring an additional 160,563 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Constellation Brands during the fourth quarter worth about $31,656,000. 77.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Constellation Brands from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $220.00 to $202.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $293.00 to $289.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Constellation Brands from $265.00 to $223.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. 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 report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of Constellation Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Constellation Brands presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $252.81.

Insider Buying and Selling at Constellation Brands

In other news, Director William T. Giles acquired 1,000 shares of Constellation Brands stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was bought 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 owns 1,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $272,688.57. This represents a 215.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 12.19% of the company’s stock.

Constellation Brands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE STZ opened at $181.46 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $160.46 and a twelve month high of $274.87. The company has a market capitalization of $32.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.78, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.75. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $180.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $219.38.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 10th. The company reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by ($0.08). Constellation Brands had a net margin of 6.27% and a return on equity of 26.55%. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.19 earnings per share. Constellation Brands’s quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Constellation Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $1.01 per share. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.