Empirical Finance LLC Raises Stock Position in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Empirical Finance LLC grew its position in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,848 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 368 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $734,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in STZ. Capital International Investors grew its position in Constellation Brands by 39.4% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,685,249 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,175,583,000 after acquiring an additional 3,304,709 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 8.7% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,040,669 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,456,892,000 after purchasing an additional 723,549 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 23,184.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 499,689 shares of the company’s stock worth $128,765,000 after purchasing an additional 497,543 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Constellation Brands during the 2nd quarter worth about $119,394,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Constellation Brands by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,705,793 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,724,686,000 after buying an additional 462,891 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.34% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Constellation Brands news, EVP James A. Jr. Sabia sold 36,086 shares of Constellation Brands stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.99, for a total transaction of $8,768,537.14. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,898,045.58. The trade was a 69.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO William A. Newlands sold 25,000 shares of Constellation Brands stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.58, for a total value of $6,089,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 7,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,771,800.92. This trade represents a 77.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 189,296 shares of company stock valued at $45,899,031 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 12.19% of the company’s stock.

Constellation Brands Trading Down 1.9 %

NYSE:STZ opened at $237.51 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $43.12 billion, a PE ratio of 76.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.75. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $244.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $248.05. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 12-month low of $224.76 and a 12-month high of $274.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 3rd. The company reported $4.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.08 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. Constellation Brands had a return on equity of 25.34% and a net margin of 5.29%. Constellation Brands’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.70 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Constellation Brands Dividend Announcement

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 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 130.74%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. TD Cowen cut shares of Constellation Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $300.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $298.00 target price on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Constellation Brands from $305.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $308.00 price objective on shares of Constellation Brands in a report on Friday, October 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Constellation Brands currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $290.47.

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.