Inscription Capital LLC Boosts Stock Position in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Inscription Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 72.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,825 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 765 shares during the period. Inscription Capital LLC’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $480,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Burns Matteson Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Constellation Brands by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Burns Matteson Capital Management LLC now owns 2,499 shares of the company’s stock valued at $604,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Constellation Brands by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,352 shares of the company’s stock valued at $569,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. boosted its position in Constellation Brands by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 1,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $309,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co boosted its position in Constellation Brands by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $207,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Copperwynd Financial LLC boosted its position in Constellation Brands by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC now owns 2,779 shares of the company’s stock valued at $672,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on STZ shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Constellation Brands from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Argus raised Constellation Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $306.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Constellation Brands from $256.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on Constellation Brands from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $297.45.

Constellation Brands Stock Performance

STZ traded up $0.67 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $263.50. 1,373,985 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,193,426. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $255.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $252.70. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $227.50 and a 52-week high of $274.87.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.16. The business 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.98 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.53 EPS for the current year.

Constellation Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd were paid a dividend of $1.01 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 2nd. This is a positive change from Constellation Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. Constellation Brands’s payout ratio is currently 43.07%.

Insider Transactions at Constellation Brands

In other news, CEO William A. Newlands sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.54, for a total value of $6,538,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,844,638. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP James A. Jr. Sabia sold 15,781 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.63, for a total value of $4,160,345.03. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,910 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,512,503.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO William A. Newlands sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.54, for a total value of $6,538,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,844,638. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 48,031 shares of company stock worth $12,582,321 in the last three months. Corporate 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.