Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Raises Position in Constellation Brands Inc (NYSE:STZ)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. grew its holdings in Constellation Brands Inc (NYSE:STZ) by 8.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,495 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $458,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Constellation Brands by 36.4% during the 1st quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 3,051 shares of the company’s stock worth $560,000 after purchasing an additional 815 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Constellation Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 179.2% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,069 shares of the company’s stock valued at $382,000 after buying an additional 1,328 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 39.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 6,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,347,000 after buying an additional 1,733 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired a new position in shares of Constellation Brands during the fourth quarter worth about $1,242,976,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on STZ. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Constellation Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $190.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Constellation Brands from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $272.00 to $241.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Constellation Brands from $230.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Bernstein Bank decreased their price target on Constellation Brands from $260.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.87.

Constellation Brands Stock Performance

Shares of STZ opened at $162.30 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $181.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $187.96. The firm has a market cap of $28.89 billion, a PE ratio of -318.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.96 and a beta of 0.70. Constellation Brands Inc has a 12-month low of $159.35 and a 12-month high of $265.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 9th. The company reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.14 billion. Constellation Brands had a negative net margin of 0.74% and a positive return on equity of 29.56%. Constellation Brands’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.26 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Constellation Brands Inc will post 13.5 EPS for the current year.

Constellation Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 29th were paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 2.51%. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently -800.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Samuel J. Glaetzer sold 3,150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.54, for a total transaction of $593,901.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,126 shares in the company, valued at $589,376.04. This represents a 50.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 12.45% of the stock is owned by 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.