State Street Corp Buys 402,211 Shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

State Street Corp increased its stake in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 6.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,144,428 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 402,211 shares during the quarter. State Street Corp owned approximately 3.94% of Constellation Brands worth $1,841,048,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 9.5% during the 2nd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 3,538 shares of the company’s stock valued at $910,000 after buying an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in Constellation Brands by 1.0% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,126 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,319,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Constellation Brands by 7.5% in the 2nd quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 3,078 shares of the company’s stock worth $792,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Constellation Brands during the 2nd quarter valued at $257,000. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 2.6% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,351 shares of the company’s stock worth $862,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.34% of the company’s stock.

Constellation Brands Price Performance

Shares of Constellation Brands stock opened at $238.99 on Friday. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 12-month low of $224.76 and a 12-month high of $274.87. The firm has a market cap of $43.39 billion, a PE ratio of 77.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $240.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $246.35.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 3rd. The company reported $4.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.08 by $0.24. Constellation Brands had a net margin of 5.29% and a return on equity of 25.34%. The business had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.70 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.57 EPS for the current year.

Constellation Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 5th were paid a $1.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a $4.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. Constellation Brands’s payout ratio is 130.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert Sands sold 119,274 shares of the business’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 value of $28,908,439.38. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO William A. Newlands sold 7,426 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.24, for a total value of $1,761,744.24. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 7,274 shares in the company, valued at $1,725,683.76. This trade represents a 50.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 189,956 shares of company stock valued at $46,058,091 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 12.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $255.00 price objective (down from $300.00) on shares of Constellation Brands in a research note on Monday, October 7th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Constellation Brands from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 9th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Constellation Brands from $315.00 to $305.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Barclays dropped their price target on Constellation Brands from $309.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Constellation Brands from $307.00 to $293.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $288.70.

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.