Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Acquires 845 Shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 13.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 7,341 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 845 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $1,892,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Constellation Brands from $307.00 to $293.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Constellation Brands from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. TD Cowen lowered Constellation Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $300.00 to $270.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Constellation Brands from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $255.00 price objective (down previously from $300.00) on shares of Constellation Brands in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $289.16.

Constellation Brands Stock Up 1.0 %

STZ opened at $235.97 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $241.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $246.92. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $42.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 76.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.90. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $224.76 and a one year high of $274.87.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.08 by $0.24. Constellation Brands had a return on equity of 25.34% and a net margin of 5.29%. 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 business posted $3.70 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.57 EPS for the current year.

Constellation Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th were given a dividend of $1.01 per share. This represents a $4.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 5th. Constellation Brands’s payout ratio is 130.74%.

Insider Transactions at Constellation Brands

In other news, major shareholder Wildstar Partners Llc sold 660 shares of Constellation Brands 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 directly owns 1,736,884 shares in the company, valued at $418,589,044. The trade was a 0.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Sands sold 119,274 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.37, for a total transaction of $28,908,439.38. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 431,729 shares in the company, valued at $104,638,157.73. The trade was a 21.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 189,956 shares of company stock valued at $46,058,091 over the last three months. 12.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.