Alliancebernstein L.P. Sells 350,175 Shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Alliancebernstein L.P. cut its position in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 13.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,269,160 shares of the company’s stock after selling 350,175 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 1.26% of Constellation Brands worth $501,484,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in STZ. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. boosted its position in Constellation Brands by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. now owns 23,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,164,000 after buying an additional 1,168 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 742,458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $164,083,000 after acquiring an additional 22,471 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Constellation Brands during the fourth quarter worth $4,180,000. Allianz SE bought a new stake in shares of Constellation Brands in the fourth quarter worth $1,471,000. Finally, Allstate Corp acquired a new stake in Constellation Brands in the fourth quarter valued at $1,102,000. 77.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Constellation Brands

In other news, Director William T. Giles bought 1,000 shares of Constellation Brands stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $186.39 per share, for a total transaction of $186,390.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,463 shares in the company, valued at $272,688.57. The trade was a 215.98 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 12.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on STZ. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Constellation Brands from $300.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Constellation Brands from $265.00 to $223.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Constellation Brands from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $260.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $293.00 to $289.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Argus cut shares of Constellation Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $249.18.

Constellation Brands Stock Down 0.3 %

Constellation Brands stock opened at $183.69 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.75. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $177.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $214.50. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $160.46 and a 1-year high of $274.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The company reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.33 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.53 billion. Constellation Brands had a net margin of 6.27% and a return on equity of 26.55%. Constellation Brands’s revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.19 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Constellation Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $1.01 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 108.60%.

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.