James A. Jr. Sabia Sells 15,781 Shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) Stock

Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) EVP James A. Jr. Sabia sold 15,781 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.63, for a total value of $4,160,345.03. Following the sale, 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 the SEC website.

Constellation Brands Stock Performance

NYSE:STZ opened at $258.68 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.53. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $221.81 and a 1 year high of $274.87. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $257.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $247.21. The company has a market cap of $47.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.58, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.75.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last released 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 business had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.98 EPS. As a group, equities 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 dividend of $1.01 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. This is a boost from Constellation Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. Constellation Brands’s payout ratio is presently 43.07%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Constellation Brands

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its holdings in Constellation Brands by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 17,218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,327,000 after acquiring an additional 2,526 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its holdings in Constellation Brands by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 32,433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,151,000 after acquiring an additional 4,311 shares during the period. Perigon Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Constellation Brands by 46.0% during the 4th quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,012 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,453,000 after acquiring an additional 1,893 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 35.8% in the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 2,002 shares of the company’s stock worth $484,000 after buying an additional 528 shares during the period. Finally, Ascent Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Constellation Brands in the 4th quarter worth $962,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

STZ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. TheStreet lowered Constellation Brands from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Bank of America raised their price target on Constellation Brands from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. HSBC raised their price target on Constellation Brands from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Constellation Brands from $292.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Constellation Brands from $295.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $298.55.

Constellation Brands Company 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.