First National Trust Co Has $2.19 Million Stake in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

First National Trust Co decreased its holdings in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 62.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 1,844.7% in the 4th 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. Copperleaf Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Constellation Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $343,000. Grimes & Company Inc. acquired a new position in Constellation Brands in the fourth quarter worth approximately $6,099,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Constellation Brands by 62.8% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,575 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,663,000 after buying an additional 6,391 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Southern Style Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Constellation Brands in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,074,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.34% of the company’s stock.

Constellation Brands Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of STZ stock opened at $181.46 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $32.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.75. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $160.46 and a one year high of $274.87. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $180.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $219.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.46.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last issued 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). The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.53 billion. Constellation Brands had a return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 6.27%. The firm’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. Analysts predict that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Constellation Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $1.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 108.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director William T. Giles bought 1,000 shares of Constellation Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 1,463 shares in the company, valued at $272,688.57. This trade represents a 215.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 12.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on STZ shares. Barclays dropped their price objective on Constellation Brands from $214.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Constellation Brands from $300.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley downgraded Constellation Brands from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $220.00 to $202.00 in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Constellation Brands from $295.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Constellation Brands from $270.00 to $260.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Constellation Brands presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $252.81.

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.