Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Has $9.83 Million Stock Holdings in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 31.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 40,233 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,651 shares during the quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $9,832,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Oakworth Capital Inc. increased its position in Constellation Brands by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 989 shares of the company’s stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC increased its position in Constellation Brands by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 1,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Constellation Brands by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $244,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC increased its position in Constellation Brands by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 5,570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,435,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Finally, Umpqua Bank increased its position in Constellation Brands by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 1,124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $289,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. 77.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target 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. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Constellation Brands from $265.00 to $255.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Constellation Brands from $307.00 to $293.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Constellation Brands from $305.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Constellation Brands from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Constellation Brands presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $288.70.

Constellation Brands Stock Performance

STZ opened at $239.00 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $240.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $246.23. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $224.76 and a 1-year high of $274.87. The company has a market cap of $43.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.35, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.90.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 3rd. The company reported $4.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.08 by $0.24. Constellation Brands had a net margin of 5.29% and a return on equity of 25.34%. The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.70 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Constellation Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th were issued a dividend of $1.01 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a $4.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. Constellation Brands’s payout ratio is 130.74%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO William A. Newlands sold 7,426 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.24, for a total value of $1,761,744.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 7,274 shares in the company, valued at $1,725,683.76. This represents a 50.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Wildstar Partners Llc sold 660 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.00, for a total transaction of $159,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,736,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $418,589,044. This represents a 0.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 189,956 shares of company stock worth $46,058,091. Insiders own 12.19% of the company’s stock.

Constellation Brands Company 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.