Vestcor Inc Grows Holdings in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Vestcor Inc lifted its stake in shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 675.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 42,367 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 36,900 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $10,918,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in STZ. Resources Management Corp CT ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV now owns 19,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,921,000 after purchasing an additional 561 shares in the last quarter. Executive Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Constellation Brands by 18.9% in the 3rd quarter. Executive Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,985 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,346,000 after buying an additional 2,060 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Constellation Brands by 68.0% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 252 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA grew its position in Constellation Brands by 1.1% during the third quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA now owns 31,892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,218,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 3.7% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 84,204 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,699,000 after acquiring an additional 2,980 shares in the last quarter. 77.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Constellation Brands

In other news, major shareholder Wildstar Partners Llc sold 660 shares of Constellation Brands stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.00, for a total transaction of $159,060.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,736,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $418,589,044. The trade was a 0.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Samuel J. Glaetzer sold 1,510 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.57, for a total transaction of $370,810.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,220,482.90. The trade was a 23.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 189,956 shares of company stock valued at $46,058,091. 12.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $308.00 price objective on shares of Constellation Brands in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Evercore ISI cut their price target 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 decreased their price objective on Constellation Brands from $315.00 to $305.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Constellation Brands from $305.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $255.00 price target (down from $300.00) on shares of Constellation Brands in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $288.70.

Constellation Brands Stock Performance

Shares of STZ stock opened at $244.31 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $239.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $246.21. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $224.76 and a 52 week high of $274.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.36 billion, a PE ratio of 79.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.90.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 3rd. The company reported $4.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.08 by $0.24. The business 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 firm’s revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.70 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Constellation Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 5th were given a dividend of $1.01 per share. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 5th. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 130.74%.

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.