Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) Plans Dividend Increase – $1.01 Per Share

Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 11th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be paid a dividend of 1.01 per share on Friday, May 17th. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. This is an increase from Constellation Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89.

Constellation Brands has increased its dividend payment by an average of 5.0% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 3 years. Constellation Brands has a payout ratio of 26.7% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Constellation Brands to earn $14.94 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.04 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 27.0%.

Constellation Brands Stock Up 0.4 %

Constellation Brands stock opened at $261.19 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.85, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.97. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $260.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $248.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.53. Constellation Brands has a fifty-two week low of $221.81 and a fifty-two week high of $274.87.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. Constellation Brands had a net margin of 16.13% and a return on equity of 23.06%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.98 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Constellation Brands will post 13.51 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

STZ has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $305.00 target price on shares of Constellation Brands in a research note on Friday, April 12th. HSBC increased their target price on Constellation Brands from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Constellation Brands from $256.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, TheStreet lowered Constellation Brands from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $298.55.

Insider Activity at Constellation Brands

In other Constellation Brands news, EVP James A. Jr. Sabia sold 15,781 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.63, for a total transaction of $4,160,345.03. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 20,910 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,512,503.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP James A. Jr. Sabia sold 15,781 shares of Constellation Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.63, for a total value of $4,160,345.03. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,512,503.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO William A. Newlands sold 4,013 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.25, for a total value of $1,056,422.25. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 5,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,420,233.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 16.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.