First Financial Bank Trust Division Trims Stake in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

First Financial Bank Trust Division cut its position in shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 34.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,003 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,805 shares during the period. First Financial Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $3,758,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in STZ. Oakworth Capital Inc. boosted its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 4.4% during the third quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Constellation Brands by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 1,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Constellation Brands by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $244,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its position in Constellation Brands by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 5,570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,435,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Umpqua Bank increased its stake in Constellation Brands by 4.6% in the second quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 1,124 shares of the company’s stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. 77.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Constellation Brands Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of Constellation Brands stock traded up $1.57 during trading on Thursday, reaching $222.57. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,130,749 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,237,062. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $234.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $243.77. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $219.54 and a 1-year high of $274.87. The company has a market cap of $40.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 3rd. The company reported $4.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.08 by $0.24. Constellation Brands had a return on equity of 25.34% and a net margin of 5.29%. The business had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.70 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Samuel J. Glaetzer sold 1,510 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.57, for a total value of $370,810.70. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,220,482.90. This represents a 23.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Wildstar Partners Llc sold 660 shares of Constellation Brands stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.00, for a total value of $159,060.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,736,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $418,589,044. This trade represents a 0.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 189,956 shares of company stock worth $46,058,091 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 12.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on STZ shares. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $298.00 target price on shares of Constellation Brands in a research note on Friday, October 4th. TD Cowen lowered shares of Constellation Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $300.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Constellation Brands from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Constellation Brands from $315.00 to $305.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Constellation Brands has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $288.70.

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.