Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC Decreases Stake in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC trimmed its position in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 13.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 20,560 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,313 shares during the period. Constellation Brands accounts for 1.1% of Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $4,544,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Constellation Brands by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,534,787 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,433,188,000 after purchasing an additional 1,821,969 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted 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 worth $1,841,048,000 after purchasing an additional 402,211 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,176,095 shares of the company’s stock worth $482,919,000 after purchasing an additional 253,445 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Constellation Brands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $445,883,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in Constellation Brands by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,853,081 shares of the company’s stock worth $477,515,000 after buying an additional 21,454 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director William T. Giles bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $186.39 per share, for a total transaction of $186,390.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $272,688.57. This trade represents a 215.98 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 12.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $203.00 price objective (down previously from $262.00) on shares of Constellation Brands in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Roth Capital cut their price target on Constellation Brands from $298.00 to $284.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Constellation Brands from $205.00 to $203.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Argus downgraded Constellation Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on Constellation Brands from $265.00 to $223.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $249.18.

Constellation Brands Stock Down 0.3 %

STZ stock opened at $183.69 on Monday. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $177.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $214.50. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $160.46 and a 12 month high of $274.87. The company has a market cap of $33.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.38, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.75.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last announced 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). The company had revenue of $2.46 billion for 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 quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.19 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $1.01 dividend. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.