Berkshire Hathaway Inc Sells 400,000 Shares of Constellation Brands Inc $STZ

Berkshire Hathaway Inc reduced its stake in Constellation Brands Inc (NYSE:STZ) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,000,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 400,000 shares during the quarter. Constellation Brands accounts for 0.7% of Berkshire Hathaway Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Berkshire Hathaway Inc owned approximately 0.07% of Constellation Brands worth $1,793,480,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Align Financial LLC bought a new stake in Constellation Brands in the 4th quarter valued at $9,516,000. DV Equities LLC bought a new stake in Constellation Brands in the 4th quarter valued at $96,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Constellation Brands by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 172,547 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,805,000 after acquiring an additional 24,878 shares in the last quarter. EFG International AG bought a new stake in Constellation Brands in the 4th quarter valued at $917,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in Constellation Brands by 32.0% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 63,842 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,808,000 after acquiring an additional 15,478 shares in the last quarter. 77.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Constellation Brands news, EVP James O. Bourdeau sold 4,407 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.24, for a total value of $631,258.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 9,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,304,773.16. This represents a 32.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 12.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on STZ shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Constellation Brands from $154.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $185.00 price target on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Evercore set a $175.00 price target on shares of Constellation Brands and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $160.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Constellation Brands currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.68.

Constellation Brands Stock Down 3.7%

Constellation Brands stock opened at $138.79 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $23.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. Constellation Brands Inc has a twelve month low of $126.45 and a twelve month high of $178.13. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $149.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $150.14.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 8th. The company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. Constellation Brands had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 26.18%. The business’s revenue was down 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.63 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Constellation Brands Inc will post 11.87 EPS for the current year.

Constellation Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 29th were issued a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 29th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. This is an increase from Constellation Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Constellation Brands’s payout ratio is currently 42.96%.

Constellation Brands Company Profile

Constellation Brands, Inc is a leading producer and marketer of beer, wine and spirits, with operations spanning production, importation, marketing and distribution. The company’s beverage portfolio includes a range of premium and mainstream wines and spirits alongside major imported beer brands; in the U.S. market Constellation is widely known for its role in bringing Mexican imports such as Corona and Modelo to American consumers. Constellation supplies retail, on?premise and foodservice channels and supports its brands with national sales and marketing platforms and supply?chain capabilities.

The company traces its roots to the Canandaigua Wine Company, founded by Marvin Sands in 1945, and evolved through organic growth and acquisition into a diversified beverage company.