GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC Reduces Stock Position in Constellation Brands Inc $STZ

GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC reduced its position in shares of Constellation Brands Inc (NYSE:STZ) by 17.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,307 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,604 shares during the period. GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $2,940,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of STZ. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 23.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,001 shares of the company’s stock worth $221,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Constellation Brands during the first quarter worth about $2,409,000. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC raised its stake in Constellation Brands by 69.9% in the second quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 1,026 shares of the company’s stock worth $167,000 after buying an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its stake in Constellation Brands by 3.6% in the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 17,347 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,822,000 after buying an additional 599 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in Constellation Brands by 5.0% in the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 23,732 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,861,000 after buying an additional 1,127 shares in the last quarter. 77.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on STZ. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $151.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Constellation Brands in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $155.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $154.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $176.30.

Constellation Brands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE STZ opened at $148.00 on Friday. Constellation Brands Inc has a fifty-two week low of $126.45 and a fifty-two week high of $196.91. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $154.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $147.99. The company has a market capitalization of $25.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.43, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.08.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 8th. The company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.19. Constellation Brands had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 26.18%. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.63 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Constellation Brands Inc will post 11.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Constellation Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 29th will be paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. This is a positive change from Constellation Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 29th. Constellation Brands’s payout ratio is 42.96%.

Constellation Brands Profile

Constellation Brands, Inc is a leading producer and marketer of beer, wine and spirits, with operations spanning production, importation, marketing and distribution. The company’s beverage portfolio includes a range of premium and mainstream wines and spirits alongside major imported beer brands; in the U.S. market Constellation is widely known for its role in bringing Mexican imports such as Corona and Modelo to American consumers. Constellation supplies retail, on‑premise and foodservice channels and supports its brands with national sales and marketing platforms and supply‑chain capabilities.

The company traces its roots to the Canandaigua Wine Company, founded by Marvin Sands in 1945, and evolved through organic growth and acquisition into a diversified beverage company.