Insider Selling: Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) CEO Sells 4,013 Shares of Stock

Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) CEO William A. Newlands sold 4,013 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.25, for a total value of $1,056,422.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 5,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,420,233.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Constellation Brands Trading Down 0.0 %

NYSE STZ opened at $261.55 on Thursday. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $221.81 and a 1-year high of $274.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The company has a market capitalization of $47.82 billion, a PE ratio of 27.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.97. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $259.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $247.67.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. Constellation Brands had a net margin of 16.13% and a return on equity of 23.06%. Constellation Brands’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.98 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Constellation Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd will be issued a $1.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. This is a boost from Constellation Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.95%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Constellation Brands

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Constellation Brands by 1.5% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,050,468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,018,005,000 after acquiring an additional 58,518 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in Constellation Brands by 12.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,247,617 shares of the company’s stock valued at $543,361,000 after acquiring an additional 256,738 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Constellation Brands during the fourth quarter valued at about $443,844,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Constellation Brands by 3.7% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,499,035 shares of the company’s stock valued at $376,752,000 after acquiring an additional 53,862 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Constellation Brands by 38.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,403,495 shares of the company’s stock valued at $335,402,000 after acquiring an additional 388,390 shares during the period. 77.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. TheStreet downgraded Constellation Brands from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Friday, January 5th. 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. 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. UBS Group increased their price objective on Constellation Brands from $312.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Constellation Brands from $294.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Constellation Brands presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $298.55.

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 Premier, Corona Familiar, Corona Light, Corona Refresca, Corona Hard Seltzer, Modelo Especial, Modelo Negra, Modelo Chelada, Victoria, Vicky Chamoy, and Pacifico brands.