Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) Shares Purchased by Ameritas Advisory Services LLC

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,362 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $1,637,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of STZ. Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 192,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,570,000 after purchasing an additional 5,951 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 100.4% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 250,945 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,666,000 after buying an additional 125,730 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Constellation Brands during the second quarter worth about $119,394,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Constellation Brands by 3.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,705,793 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,724,686,000 after buying an additional 462,891 shares during the period. Finally, Howland Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC now owns 141,314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,403,000 after acquiring an additional 4,051 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on STZ. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Constellation Brands from $310.00 to $311.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Constellation Brands from $305.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Constellation Brands from $315.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $291.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 5th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Constellation Brands from $287.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $299.21.

Constellation Brands Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of STZ stock traded down $0.84 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $237.13. The company had a trading volume of 347,082 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,166,998. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $248.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $253.73. The company has a market capitalization of $43.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.19. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a twelve month low of $227.50 and a twelve month high of $274.87.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 3rd. The company reported $3.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.46 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $2.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.67 billion. Constellation Brands had a return on equity of 23.72% and a net margin of 22.70%. Constellation Brands’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.91 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Constellation Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th were issued a dividend of $1.01 per share. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 14th. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Garth Hankinson sold 13,583 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total transaction of $3,259,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 11,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,808,480. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CFO Garth Hankinson sold 13,583 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total transaction of $3,259,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 11,702 shares in the company, valued at $2,808,480. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Kaneenat Kristann Carey sold 977 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.00, for a total value of $254,997.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,706 shares in the company, valued at $706,266. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 16,414 shares of company stock worth $3,982,922 over the last ninety days. 12.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Constellation Brands 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.