West Oak Capital LLC Trims Stake in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

West Oak Capital LLC lessened its stake in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 7,080 shares of the company’s stock after selling 250 shares during the quarter. West Oak Capital LLC’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $1,829,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of STZ. Prudential PLC acquired a new position in shares of Constellation Brands in the first quarter worth about $705,000. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 17,026 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,921,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Constellation Brands by 17.6% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,149 shares of the company’s stock worth $725,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Constellation Brands by 2.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,601,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,902,327,000 after purchasing an additional 313,344 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ergoteles LLC acquired a new stake in Constellation Brands in the first quarter valued at approximately $257,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.34% of the company’s stock.

Constellation Brands Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of STZ stock traded down $1.46 on Thursday, hitting $270.58. 201,323 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,174,202. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 1.05. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a twelve month low of $217.05 and a twelve month high of $273.65. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $252.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $246.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.47 billion, a PE ratio of 32.20, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.96.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 5th. The company reported $3.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.03 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.54 billion. Constellation Brands had a net margin of 14.76% and a return on equity of 23.35%. Constellation Brands’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.83 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 11.92 EPS for the current year.

Constellation Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 8th were paid a dividend of $0.89 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 7th. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Constellation Brands

In other news, major shareholder Family Foundation Sands sold 354,616 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.26, for a total transaction of $88,746,200.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 54,461 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,629,409.86. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 16.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

STZ has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America upped their target price on Constellation Brands from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $309.00 to $301.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 21st. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Constellation Brands in a report on Wednesday. TheStreet cut shares of Constellation Brands from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $300.00 price target for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $290.37.

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 Premier, Corona Familiar, Corona Light, Corona Refresca, Corona Hard Seltzer, Modelo Especial, Modelo Negra, Modelo Chelada, Victoria, Vicky Chamoy, and Pacifico brands.