Mackenzie Financial Corp Lowers Position in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Mackenzie Financial Corp lowered its stake in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ - Free Report) by 11.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 148,529 shares of the company's stock after selling 19,474 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp owned 0.08% of Constellation Brands worth $35,907,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of STZ. Prudential PLC acquired a new stake in Constellation Brands during the 1st quarter worth $705,000. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in Constellation Brands by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 17,026 shares of the company's stock worth $3,921,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Constellation Brands by 17.6% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,149 shares of the company's stock worth $725,000 after acquiring an additional 471 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,601,280 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,902,327,000 after buying an additional 313,344 shares during the period. Finally, Ergoteles LLC acquired a new position in shares of Constellation Brands in the 1st quarter valued at $257,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.34% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on STZ shares. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Constellation Brands from $256.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. HSBC raised their price objective on Constellation Brands from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Constellation Brands from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Constellation Brands from $309.00 to $301.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $298.55.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Constellation Brands news, EVP James A. Jr. Sabia sold 15,781 shares of Constellation Brands stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.63, for a total transaction of $4,160,345.03. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,910 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,512,503.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 16.19% of the company's stock.

Constellation Brands Price Performance

Shares of STZ traded up $1.37 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $258.68. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,160,760 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,274,331. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $221.81 and a one year high of $274.87. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $257.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $247.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.97.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. Constellation Brands had a return on equity of 23.06% and a net margin of 16.13%. Constellation Brands's quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.98 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Constellation Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.01 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. This is an increase from Constellation Brands's previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. This represents a $4.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. Constellation Brands's payout ratio is presently 37.95%.

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 Premier, Corona Familiar, Corona Light, Corona Refresca, Corona Hard Seltzer, Modelo Especial, Modelo Negra, Modelo Chelada, Victoria, Vicky Chamoy, and Pacifico brands.