International Assets Investment Management LLC Cuts Position in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

International Assets Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 7.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,162 shares of the company’s stock after selling 183 shares during the quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $575,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in STZ. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 614.0% in the 3rd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 4,548 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,141,000 after purchasing an additional 3,911 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in Constellation Brands by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 134,545 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,815,000 after acquiring an additional 6,906 shares in the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 33.3% during the third quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 3,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $946,000 after buying an additional 941 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC grew its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 3,833.3% during the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 118 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 3.4% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 94,911 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,854,000 after buying an additional 3,136 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $308.00 price target on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, HSBC boosted their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Constellation Brands has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $298.37.

Insider Buying and Selling at Constellation Brands

In other Constellation Brands news, EVP James A. Jr. Sabia sold 15,781 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.63, for a total value of $4,160,345.03. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,512,503.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Constellation Brands news, EVP James A. Jr. Sabia sold 15,781 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.63, for a total transaction of $4,160,345.03. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 20,910 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,512,503.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Michael Mcgrew sold 3,237 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.50, for a total value of $827,053.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $442,270.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 48,031 shares of company stock valued at $12,582,321. 12.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Constellation Brands Stock Performance

Shares of STZ opened at $263.50 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $48.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.89. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $255.18 and a 200-day moving average of $252.94. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $227.50 and a 1 year high of $274.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.19.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.16. Constellation Brands had a net margin of 16.13% and a return on equity of 23.06%. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.98 EPS. Constellation Brands’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Constellation Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd were issued a $1.01 dividend. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. This is an increase from Constellation Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 2nd. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.07%.

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.