Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Increases Stock Position in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 35.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,802 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,321 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $3,299,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Constellation Brands in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in Constellation Brands in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN purchased a new stake in shares of Constellation Brands during the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Constellation Brands in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Constellation Brands in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 77.34% of the company’s stock.

Constellation Brands Stock Performance

NYSE STZ opened at $237.51 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 76.86, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $244.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $248.25. 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 fifty-two week low of $224.76 and a fifty-two week high of $274.87.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 3rd. The company reported $4.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.95 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.70 earnings per share. Constellation Brands’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Constellation Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be issued a dividend of $1.01 per share. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 5th. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 130.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on STZ. Morgan Stanley lowered 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 note on Monday, August 26th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Constellation Brands from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Constellation Brands from $307.00 to $293.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Barclays dropped their price target on Constellation Brands from $309.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Constellation Brands from $315.00 to $305.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $290.47.

Insider Activity at Constellation Brands

In other news, Director Robert Sands sold 119,274 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.37, for a total transaction of $28,908,439.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 431,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $104,638,157.73. This represents a 21.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO William A. Newlands sold 7,426 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 7,274 shares in the company, valued at $1,725,683.76. This trade represents a 50.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 189,296 shares of company stock worth $45,899,031. 12.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.