Morton Community Bank Trims Position in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Morton Community Bank cut its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 3.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,842 shares of the company’s stock after selling 468 shares during the quarter. Morton Community Bank’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $3,052,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Constellation Brands during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $119,394,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 318.8% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,624,000 after purchasing an additional 7,752 shares in the last quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Constellation Brands during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,132,000. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 29.5% during the 3rd quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 30,160 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,772,000 after purchasing an additional 6,867 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Constellation Brands during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $561,000. 77.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on STZ shares. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $315.00 to $305.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $309.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $298.00 price target on shares of Constellation Brands in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $289.16.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Samuel J. Glaetzer sold 1,510 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.57, for a total transaction of $370,810.70. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,220,482.90. The trade was a 23.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Wildstar Partners Llc sold 660 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.00, for a total transaction of $159,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,736,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $418,589,044. This trade represents a 0.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 189,956 shares of company stock valued at $46,058,091. 12.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Constellation Brands Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of STZ opened at $240.95 on Friday. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $224.76 and a 52-week high of $274.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $241.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $246.75. The stock has a market cap of $43.75 billion, a PE ratio of 77.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.90.

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. The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.70 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Constellation Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th were given a dividend of $1.01 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a $4.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.68%. Constellation Brands’s payout ratio is 130.74%.

Constellation Brands 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.