Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Raises Position in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ - Free Report) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 62,773 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,671 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $13,980,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,144,428 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,841,048,000 after buying an additional 402,211 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,853,081 shares of the company's stock valued at $477,515,000 after buying an additional 21,454 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 1,844.7% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 924,274 shares of the company's stock valued at $204,265,000 after buying an additional 876,745 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 23,184.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 499,689 shares of the company's stock valued at $128,765,000 after buying an additional 497,543 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service grew its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 381,755 shares of the company's stock valued at $98,374,000 after purchasing an additional 45,707 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.34% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Constellation Brands

In other Constellation Brands news, Director William T. Giles purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $186.39 per share, with a total value of $186,390.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,463 shares in the company, valued at approximately $272,688.57. The trade was a 215.98 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 12.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on STZ shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $240.00 target price on shares of Constellation Brands in a report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $203.00 target price (down previously from $262.00) on shares of Constellation Brands in a report on Monday, January 13th. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Constellation Brands in a report on Monday, November 25th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $261.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $280.00 to $220.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $295.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Constellation Brands presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $254.29.

Constellation Brands Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of STZ traded up $3.09 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $172.47. 3,206,581 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,850,917. The company's fifty day moving average price is $196.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $226.68. The company has a market capitalization of $31.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $160.46 and a 12 month high of $274.87.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The company reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.33 by ($0.08). Constellation Brands had a net margin of 6.27% and a return on equity of 26.55%. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.53 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.19 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $1.01 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. Constellation Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 108.60%.

Constellation Brands 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.