Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Has $250,000 Stake in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 22.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,138 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $250,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of STZ. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 6.0% in the 3rd 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 period. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in Constellation Brands by 1.2% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,853,081 shares of the company’s stock valued at $477,515,000 after acquiring an additional 21,454 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Constellation Brands by 1,844.7% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 924,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $204,265,000 after purchasing an additional 876,745 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Constellation Brands by 66.3% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in Constellation Brands by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 354,046 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,244,000 after purchasing an additional 7,575 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Constellation Brands

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, 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 $272,688.57. This represents a 215.98 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 12.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on STZ shares. Morgan Stanley cut 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. UBS Group lowered their target price 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. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $240.00 price target on shares of Constellation Brands in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Constellation Brands from $295.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Constellation Brands from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Constellation Brands presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $253.43.

Constellation Brands Price Performance

STZ stock opened at $174.08 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $185.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $222.14. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $160.46 and a 1 year high of $274.87. The stock has a market cap of $31.46 billion, a PE ratio of 46.79, 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.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last announced its earnings results 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 analyst estimates of $2.53 billion. Constellation Brands had a net margin of 6.27% and a return on equity of 26.55%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.19 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Constellation Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $1.01 per share. This represents a $4.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Constellation Brands’s payout ratio is 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.