Pinnacle Associates Ltd. Decreases Stake in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. decreased its position in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 35.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 15,849 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,641 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd.’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $3,831,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Constellation Brands in the 2nd quarter valued at about $119,394,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Constellation Brands by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,705,793 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,724,686,000 after buying an additional 462,891 shares during the last quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC now owns 141,314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,403,000 after acquiring an additional 4,051 shares during the period. Capital International Sarl grew its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 35.9% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Sarl now owns 10,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,843,000 after acquiring an additional 2,764 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 503,058 shares of the company’s stock valued at $136,711,000 after acquiring an additional 5,302 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.34% of the company’s stock.

Constellation Brands Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:STZ opened at $232.30 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $245.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $249.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.53. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $232.08 and a one year high of $274.87. The company has a market cap of $42.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 75.18, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.75.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 3rd. The company reported $4.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.08 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. Constellation Brands had a net margin of 5.29% and a return on equity of 25.34%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.70 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Constellation Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be issued a dividend of $1.01 per share. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 5th. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 130.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on STZ. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $315.00 to $305.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $305.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $255.00 price objective (down from $300.00) on shares of Constellation Brands in a report on Monday, October 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $290.47.

Insider Transactions at Constellation Brands

In other news, Director Robert Sands sold 119,274 shares of Constellation Brands stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.37, for a total transaction of $28,908,439.38. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 431,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $104,638,157.73. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Robert Sands sold 119,274 shares of Constellation Brands stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.37, for a total transaction of $28,908,439.38. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 431,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $104,638,157.73. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO William A. Newlands sold 7,426 shares of Constellation Brands stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.24, for a total transaction of $1,761,744.24. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 7,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,725,683.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 141,793 shares of company stock valued at $34,300,914. Insiders own 12.19% of the company’s stock.

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.