Insider Selling: Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) CEO Sells 25,000 Shares of Stock

Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) CEO William A. Newlands sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.58, for a total value of $6,089,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Constellation Brands Price Performance

Constellation Brands stock traded down $4.49 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $237.51. The stock had a trading volume of 1,425,616 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,203,183. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.63, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.90. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $224.76 and a 1-year high of $274.87. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $244.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $248.25.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last posted its 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 company had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.70 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Constellation Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be issued a $1.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 130.74%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Constellation Brands

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 71.0% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 3,316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $901,000 after buying an additional 1,377 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 12.4% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,265 shares of the company’s stock valued at $887,000 after buying an additional 360 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 14.3% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 58,814 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,986,000 after buying an additional 7,343 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Constellation Brands by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 2,869 shares of the company’s stock valued at $780,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its stake in Constellation Brands by 27.2% during the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 40,095 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,896,000 after purchasing an additional 8,585 shares in the last quarter. 77.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on STZ. TD Cowen cut Constellation Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $300.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Constellation Brands from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Constellation Brands from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Constellation Brands from $307.00 to $293.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Constellation Brands from $315.00 to $305.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.