Calamos Advisors LLC Sells 36,123 Shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Calamos Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 30.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 81,156 shares of the company’s stock after selling 36,123 shares during the quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $17,935,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of STZ. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew 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 worth $128,765,000 after acquiring an additional 497,543 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,144,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,841,048,000 after purchasing an additional 402,211 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Constellation Brands by 66.3% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 369,966 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,762,000 after purchasing an additional 147,457 shares during the period. NFJ Investment Group LLC increased its holdings in Constellation Brands by 617.3% in the third quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC now owns 108,382 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,929,000 after purchasing an additional 93,273 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Constellation Brands by 4,601.2% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 87,771 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,618,000 after buying an additional 85,904 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on STZ shares. Roth Capital lowered their price objective on shares of Constellation Brands from $298.00 to $284.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $203.00 price target (down from $262.00) on shares of Constellation Brands in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Constellation Brands from $300.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Barclays cut their price target on Constellation Brands from $282.00 to $214.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Constellation Brands from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $254.29.

Constellation Brands Stock Down 3.6 %

STZ opened at $174.31 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $215.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $233.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a twelve month low of $166.02 and a twelve month high of $274.87. The stock has a market cap of $31.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.86, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.90.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The company reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.53 billion. Constellation Brands had a return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 6.27%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.19 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Constellation Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a $1.01 dividend. This represents a $4.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 108.60%.

Insider Activity at Constellation Brands

In related news, EVP James A. Jr. Sabia sold 36,086 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.99, for a total transaction of $8,768,537.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director William T. Giles bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $186.39 per share, for a total transaction of $186,390.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,463 shares in the company, valued at approximately $272,688.57. This represents a 215.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 61,746 shares of company stock worth $15,017,097. 12.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.