Naviter Wealth LLC Purchases New Shares in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Naviter Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $204,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Perigon Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 46.0% during the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,012 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,453,000 after acquiring an additional 1,893 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in Constellation Brands by 3.2% during the fourth 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 period. CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its stake in Constellation Brands by 35.8% in the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 2,002 shares of the company’s stock valued at $484,000 after buying an additional 528 shares during the period. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Constellation Brands in the fourth quarter valued at about $962,000. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 100.4% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 250,945 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,666,000 after buying an additional 125,730 shares during the last quarter. 77.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Constellation Brands Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE STZ traded up $2.65 on Tuesday, hitting $258.94. 1,862,665 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,193,370. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The company has a market cap of $47.38 billion, a PE ratio of 27.44, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $255.27 and a 200-day moving average of $253.86. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $227.50 and a 12 month high of $274.87.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. Constellation Brands had a return on equity of 23.06% and a net margin of 16.13%. Constellation Brands’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.98 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Constellation Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd were paid a $1.01 dividend. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 2nd. This is an increase from Constellation Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. Constellation Brands’s payout ratio is presently 43.07%.

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 value of $4,160,345.03. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,512,503.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO William A. Newlands sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.54, for a total transaction of $6,538,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,844,638. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $4,160,345.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 20,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,512,503.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 48,031 shares of company stock valued at $12,582,321. 12.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. HSBC raised their price objective on Constellation Brands from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Constellation Brands in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $308.00 price objective on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Constellation Brands from $292.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $298.37.

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.