Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) Stock Position Lowered by Wedbush Securities Inc.

Wedbush Securities Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,340 shares of the company’s stock after selling 190 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $602,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 192,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,570,000 after buying an additional 5,951 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its position in Constellation Brands by 100.4% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 250,945 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,666,000 after acquiring an additional 125,730 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Constellation Brands during the 2nd quarter valued at about $119,394,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 462,891 shares during the period. Finally, Howland Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 3.0% in the first quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC now owns 141,314 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,403,000 after purchasing an additional 4,051 shares in the last quarter. 77.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Friday, July 5th. 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. Barclays lifted their price objective on Constellation Brands from $287.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $308.00 target price on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Constellation Brands from $305.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $296.78.

Constellation Brands Stock Up 1.2 %

STZ stock opened at $251.71 on Friday. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $246.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $253.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.75. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $227.50 and a 52-week high of $274.87.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 3rd. The company reported $3.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.46 by $0.11. Constellation Brands had a return on equity of 23.72% and a net margin of 22.70%. The firm had revenue of $2.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.91 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.7 EPS for the current year.

Constellation Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th were issued a dividend of $1.01 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 14th. This represents a $4.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. Constellation Brands’s payout ratio is 30.10%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Garth Hankinson sold 13,583 shares of Constellation Brands stock in a transaction dated 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 $2,808,480. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CFO Garth Hankinson sold 13,583 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total value of $3,259,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 11,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,808,480. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel J. Mccarthy sold 1,854 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.43, for a total transaction of $468,005.22. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,232 shares in the company, valued at approximately $815,853.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 16,414 shares of company stock valued at $3,982,922. 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.