Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) Shares Bought by National Pension Service

National Pension Service grew its stake in shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 13.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 381,755 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 45,707 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned about 0.21% of Constellation Brands worth $98,374,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of STZ. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Constellation Brands by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,705,793 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,724,686,000 after purchasing an additional 462,891 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its stake in Constellation Brands by 39.4% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,685,249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,175,583,000 after purchasing an additional 3,304,709 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its stake in Constellation Brands by 8.7% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,040,669 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,456,892,000 after purchasing an additional 723,549 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in Constellation Brands by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,469,997 shares of the company’s stock valued at $671,246,000 after purchasing an additional 222,380 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in Constellation Brands by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,335,976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $343,717,000 after purchasing an additional 72,637 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on STZ. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $315.00 to $305.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $308.00 price target on shares of Constellation Brands in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $305.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $290.47.

Constellation Brands Stock Up 3.0 %

NYSE STZ opened at $239.74 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.25. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $245.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $249.45. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a twelve month low of $231.70 and a twelve month high of $274.87. The stock has a market cap of $43.53 billion, a PE ratio of 77.59, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.75.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last released its 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 net margin of 5.29% and a return on equity of 25.34%. The business had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.70 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.57 EPS for the current year.

Constellation Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be paid a dividend of $1.01 per share. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 5th. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio is 130.74%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Constellation Brands news, CFO Garth Hankinson sold 13,583 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total transaction of $3,259,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 11,702 shares in the company, valued at $2,808,480. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Samuel J. Glaetzer sold 1,510 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.57, for a total transaction of $370,810.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,220,482.90. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Garth Hankinson sold 13,583 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total transaction of $3,259,920.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 11,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,808,480. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 141,793 shares of company stock worth $34,300,914 over the last quarter. Company 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.