Cetera Trust Company N.A Takes Position in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Cetera Trust Company N.A purchased a new stake in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $109,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in STZ. Darsana Capital Partners LP increased its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 288.9% in the third quarter. Darsana Capital Partners LP now owns 875,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,914,000 after buying an additional 650,000 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 24,922.5% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 567,010 shares of the company’s stock valued at $137,075,000 after buying an additional 564,744 shares in the last quarter. Phoenix Holdings Ltd. increased its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 38.3% in the third quarter. Phoenix Holdings Ltd. now owns 551,447 shares of the company’s stock valued at $138,608,000 after buying an additional 152,799 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new position in shares of Constellation Brands in the third quarter valued at $30,640,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 70.0% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 218,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,983,000 after buying an additional 89,822 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on STZ shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Constellation Brands from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Argus upgraded Constellation Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $306.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Constellation Brands from $294.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Constellation Brands from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $298.55.

Constellation Brands Stock Performance

NYSE STZ opened at $259.68 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.97. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $221.81 and a 1-year high of $274.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $258.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $247.40.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. Constellation Brands had a return on equity of 23.06% and a net margin of 16.13%. The company’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.98 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.51 EPS for the current year.

Constellation Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd will be given a dividend of $1.01 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. This is a positive change from Constellation Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. This represents a $4.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. Constellation Brands’s payout ratio is 37.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP James A. Jr. Sabia sold 15,781 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.63, for a total transaction of $4,160,345.03. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,512,503.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 16.19% of the stock is currently 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 Premier, Corona Familiar, Corona Light, Corona Refresca, Corona Hard Seltzer, Modelo Especial, Modelo Negra, Modelo Chelada, Victoria, Vicky Chamoy, and Pacifico brands.