Natixis Advisors LLC Buys 30,862 Shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 37.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 113,393 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,862 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned about 0.06% of Constellation Brands worth $29,220,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 1.1% during the first quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 3,676 shares of the company’s stock worth $999,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 9.4% during the first quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 5,359 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,456,000 after buying an additional 459 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 21.5% during the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 7,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,905,000 after buying an additional 1,239 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 1.1% during the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 503,058 shares of the company’s stock worth $136,711,000 after buying an additional 5,302 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 285.8% during the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 5,722 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,555,000 after buying an additional 4,239 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on STZ. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Constellation Brands from $315.00 to $305.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $255.00 price target (down from $300.00) on shares of Constellation Brands in a report on Monday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Constellation Brands from $307.00 to $293.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $308.00 target price on shares of Constellation Brands in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Constellation Brands from $305.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Constellation Brands presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $290.47.

Insider Transactions at Constellation Brands

In related news, Director Robert Sands sold 119,274 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.37, for a total value of $28,908,439.38. Following the transaction, the director now owns 431,729 shares in the company, valued at $104,638,157.73. This trade represents a 21.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Samuel J. Glaetzer sold 1,510 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.57, for a total value of $370,810.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,220,482.90. This represents a 23.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 189,296 shares of company stock worth $45,899,031. Insiders own 12.19% of the company’s stock.

Constellation Brands Stock Performance

Constellation Brands stock opened at $237.51 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $244.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $248.01. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $224.76 and a 52-week high of $274.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 76.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.90.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 3rd. The company reported $4.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.08 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 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 up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.70 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Constellation Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be issued a dividend of $1.01 per share. This represents a $4.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 5th. Constellation Brands’s payout ratio is presently 130.74%.

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.