Principal Securities Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ - Free Report) by 22.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,229 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,533 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.'s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $1,819,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of STZ. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Constellation Brands by 1,844.7% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 924,274 shares of the company's stock worth $204,265,000 after purchasing an additional 876,745 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 23,184.7% in the third 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 during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 6.0% in the third 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 during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 66.3% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 369,966 shares of the company's stock valued at $81,762,000 after buying an additional 147,457 shares during the period. Finally, NFJ Investment Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 617.3% in the third quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC now owns 108,382 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,929,000 after buying an additional 93,273 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.34% of the company's stock.

Constellation Brands Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of STZ stock traded up $3.67 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $176.00. The company had a trading volume of 3,974,076 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,930,950. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $160.46 and a 12 month high of $274.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $195.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $226.30. The company has a market cap of $31.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.90.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The company reported $3.25 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.19 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Constellation Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $1.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Constellation Brands's dividend payout ratio is presently 108.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on STZ. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Constellation Brands from $255.00 to $190.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Constellation Brands from $265.00 to $223.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Piper Sandler cut Constellation Brands from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $245.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. BNP Paribas began coverage on Constellation Brands in a research note on Monday, November 25th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $261.00 price target for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $240.00 price target on shares of Constellation Brands in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Ten investment 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.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $254.29.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director William T. Giles bought 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $186.39 per share, for a total transaction of $186,390.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,463 shares of the company's stock, valued at $272,688.57. This trade represents a 215.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 12.19% of the company's stock.

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.