Natixis Sells 3,749 Shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Natixis cut its holdings in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ - Free Report) by 18.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,687 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,749 shares during the period. Natixis' holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $3,688,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in STZ. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Constellation Brands by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,534,787 shares of the company's stock worth $3,433,188,000 after buying an additional 1,821,969 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its position in Constellation Brands by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,755,602 shares of the company's stock worth $2,155,946,000 after buying an additional 324,690 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Constellation Brands by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,204,003 shares of the company's stock worth $705,844,000 after buying an additional 63,323 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Constellation Brands by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,901,975 shares of the company's stock worth $641,336,000 after buying an additional 18,557 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC grew its position in Constellation Brands by 42.9% during the fourth quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 2,454,258 shares of the company's stock worth $542,391,000 after buying an additional 736,780 shares in the last quarter. 77.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on STZ. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Constellation Brands from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $201.00 price objective (down from $310.00) on shares of Constellation Brands in a report on Monday, January 13th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Constellation Brands in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Argus cut shares of Constellation Brands from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $260.00 to $225.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $224.42.

Constellation Brands Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:STZ traded down $2.14 during trading on Friday, hitting $185.36. 1,054,280 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,711,822. The stock has a market cap of $33.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.75. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $160.46 and a fifty-two week high of $265.70. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $180.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $204.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 9th. The company reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.35. Constellation Brands had a return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 6.27%. The company had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.26 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Constellation Brands Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be paid a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 29th. This is an increase from Constellation Brands's previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. Constellation Brands's payout ratio is -800.00%.

About Constellation Brands

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.