Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Grows Stake in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its position in shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 260.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,495 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 14,813 shares during the quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $5,281,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in STZ. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new stake in Constellation Brands during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN purchased a new position in Constellation Brands in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Constellation Brands in the second quarter valued at about $36,000. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC raised its holdings in Constellation Brands by 50.0% in the second quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC now owns 150 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Constellation Brands during the third quarter valued at about $39,000. 77.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Constellation Brands Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:STZ opened at $239.44 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $239.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $246.08. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $224.76 and a 1 year high of $274.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

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

Constellation Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 5th were issued a $1.01 dividend. This represents a $4.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 5th. Constellation Brands’s payout ratio is 130.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

STZ has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Constellation Brands in a research note on Monday, November 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $261.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen lowered Constellation Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $300.00 to $270.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $308.00 price target on shares of Constellation Brands in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Needham & Company LLC initiated coverage on Constellation Brands in a research note on Friday, December 6th. They set a “buy” rating and a $280.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Constellation Brands from $315.00 to $305.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $288.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert Sands sold 119,274 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.37, for a total value of $28,908,439.38. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 431,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $104,638,157.73. This trade represents a 21.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO William A. Newlands sold 7,426 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.24, for a total transaction of $1,761,744.24. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 7,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,725,683.76. This represents a 50.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 189,956 shares of company stock worth $46,058,091. Corporate insiders own 12.19% of the company’s stock.

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 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.