MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,750 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $1,737,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of STZ. Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 192,585 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,570,000 after buying an additional 5,951 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 100.4% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 250,945 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,666,000 after purchasing an additional 125,730 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Constellation Brands in the 2nd quarter valued at about $119,394,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 3.5% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Howland Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Constellation Brands by 3.0% during the first quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC now owns 141,314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,403,000 after buying an additional 4,051 shares during the period. 77.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Constellation Brands

In other news, EVP Kaneenat Kristann Carey sold 977 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.00, for a total transaction of $254,997.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 2,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $706,266. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Kaneenat Kristann Carey sold 977 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.00, for a total transaction of $254,997.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $706,266. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Garth Hankinson sold 13,583 shares of Constellation Brands stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were 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 owns 11,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,808,480. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 16,414 shares of company stock worth $3,982,922. 12.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

STZ has been the topic of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Constellation Brands from $310.00 to $311.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 5th. UBS Group cut their target price on 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 reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $308.00 price target on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of Constellation Brands in a report on Friday, July 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Constellation Brands from $320.00 to $307.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $297.12.

Constellation Brands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:STZ opened at $258.40 on Friday. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a twelve month low of $227.50 and a twelve month high of $274.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The company has a market cap of $47.28 billion, a PE ratio of 19.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.75. The company’s 50 day moving average is $246.09 and its 200 day moving average is $253.91.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 3rd. The company reported $3.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.46 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $2.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.67 billion. Constellation Brands had a net margin of 22.70% and a return on equity of 23.72%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.91 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.53 EPS for the current year.

Constellation Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 14th were issued a dividend of $1.01 per share. This represents a $4.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 14th. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.10%.

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.