Trust Co. of Vermont Sells 5,809 Shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Trust Co. of Vermont decreased its stake in shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ - Free Report) by 27.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,546 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,809 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont's holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $3,436,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in STZ. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Constellation Brands by 6.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,144,428 shares of the company's stock worth $1,841,048,000 after purchasing an additional 402,211 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Constellation Brands by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,853,081 shares of the company's stock valued at $477,515,000 after purchasing an additional 21,454 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,335,976 shares of the company's stock worth $343,717,000 after acquiring an additional 72,637 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 497,543 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service boosted 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 worth $98,374,000 after buying an additional 45,707 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.34% of the company's stock.

Constellation Brands Price Performance

STZ stock traded down $0.52 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $184.05. 2,839,837 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,501,511. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $226.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $238.82. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $176.51 and a 52 week high of $274.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.26 billion, a PE ratio of 49.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 25.34% and a net margin of 5.29%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.19 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Constellation Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $1.01 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. Constellation Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 108.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Roth Capital reduced their price objective on Constellation Brands from $298.00 to $284.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $308.00 target price on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Argus lowered shares of Constellation Brands from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $270.00 to $260.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $300.00 to $250.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Constellation Brands currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $259.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP James A. Jr. Sabia sold 36,086 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.99, for a total value of $8,768,537.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,042 shares in the company, valued at $3,898,045.58. This represents a 69.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Wildstar Partners Llc sold 660 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.00, for a total value of $159,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 69,172 shares of company stock worth $16,778,841. Company 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.