Stephens Inc. AR Purchases 1,183 Shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Stephens Inc. AR grew its position in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 2.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 51,453 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,183 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $13,259,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,705,793 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,724,686,000 after acquiring an additional 462,891 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 39.4% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,685,249 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,175,583,000 after buying an additional 3,304,709 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 8.7% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,040,669 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,456,892,000 after buying an additional 723,549 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,469,997 shares of the company’s stock worth $671,246,000 after buying an additional 222,380 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,335,976 shares of the company’s stock worth $343,717,000 after buying an additional 72,637 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on STZ. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Constellation Brands from $310.00 to $311.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 5th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Constellation Brands from $309.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $305.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $308.00 price objective on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, TD Cowen cut shares of Constellation Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $300.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Constellation Brands currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $290.47.

Constellation Brands Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:STZ opened at $232.77 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $245.43 and its 200-day moving average is $249.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.25. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $231.70 and a 52 week high of $274.87. The firm has a market cap of $42.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 75.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.88.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 3rd. The company reported $4.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.08 by $0.24. Constellation Brands had a net margin of 5.29% and a return on equity of 25.34%. The company had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.70 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Constellation Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be given a dividend of $1.01 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. Constellation Brands’s payout ratio is presently 130.74%.

Insider Activity at Constellation Brands

In other Constellation Brands news, EVP Samuel J. Glaetzer sold 1,510 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.57, for a total transaction of $370,810.70. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,220,482.90. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO William A. Newlands sold 7,426 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.24, for a total value of $1,761,744.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 7,274 shares in the company, valued at $1,725,683.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Samuel J. Glaetzer sold 1,510 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.57, for a total transaction of $370,810.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,220,482.90. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 141,793 shares of company stock worth $34,300,914 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 12.19% of the company’s stock.

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.