Nicholas Company Inc. Reduces Position in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Nicholas Company Inc. cut its stake in shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 8.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 244,300 shares of the company’s stock after selling 21,880 shares during the quarter. Nicholas Company Inc. owned about 0.14% of Constellation Brands worth $53,990,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Constellation Brands during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Constellation Brands in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new stake in Constellation Brands in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in shares of Constellation Brands during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 887.5% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 158 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. 77.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Constellation Brands news, Director William T. Giles purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $186.39 per share, for a total transaction of $186,390.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $272,688.57. This trade represents a 215.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 12.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

STZ has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Constellation Brands from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $245.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $295.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $240.00 price target on shares of Constellation Brands in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $255.00 to $190.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Constellation Brands from $265.00 to $223.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Constellation Brands has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $252.81.

Constellation Brands Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Constellation Brands stock opened at $181.46 on Friday. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $160.46 and a 52-week high of $274.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $180.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $219.23. The firm has a market cap of $32.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.75.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last issued its quarterly 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). Constellation Brands had a return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 6.27%. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.19 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Constellation Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $1.01 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. Constellation Brands’s payout ratio is currently 108.60%.

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.