State of Michigan Retirement System Trims Stock Position in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

State of Michigan Retirement System trimmed its position in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 0.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 44,058 shares of the company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $11,973,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 16.5% during the first quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 290 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Burns Matteson Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Constellation Brands by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Burns Matteson Capital Management LLC now owns 2,499 shares of the company’s stock worth $604,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Constellation Brands by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,352 shares of the company’s stock worth $569,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. boosted its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 1,277 shares of the company’s stock worth $309,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Smithfield Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $207,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.34% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO William A. Newlands sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.54, for a total value of $6,538,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,844,638. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO William A. Newlands sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.54, for a total value of $6,538,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 14,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,844,638. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael Mcgrew sold 3,237 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.50, for a total value of $827,053.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $442,270.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 48,031 shares of company stock valued at $12,582,321 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 12.19% of the company’s stock.

Constellation Brands Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:STZ traded up $2.65 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $258.94. 1,862,665 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,193,370. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $255.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $253.86. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 12-month low of $227.50 and a 12-month 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 stock has a market capitalization of $47.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.44, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.87.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.98 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Constellation Brands Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd were paid a dividend of $1.01 per share. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 2nd. This is an increase from Constellation Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.07%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on STZ. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $308.00 target price on shares of Constellation Brands in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Constellation Brands from $256.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $295.00 to $288.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $305.00 price target on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, HSBC upped their price objective on Constellation Brands from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $298.37.

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.