Wedmont Private Capital Raises Stock Holdings in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Wedmont Private Capital lifted its stake in shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 13.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,543 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the quarter. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $401,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in STZ. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Constellation Brands during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Constellation Brands in the first quarter worth $35,000. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new stake in Constellation Brands during the first quarter worth about $35,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Constellation Brands during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Constellation Brands in the second quarter worth about $36,000. 77.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on STZ. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Constellation Brands from $291.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 5th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of Constellation Brands in a report on Friday, July 5th. Roth Mkm decreased their target price on Constellation Brands from $305.00 to $303.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 5th. Barclays increased their price objective on Constellation Brands from $287.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Constellation Brands from $315.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $300.28.

Constellation Brands Price Performance

Constellation Brands stock traded up $1.27 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $240.07. 563,965 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,194,911. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $227.50 and a 12-month high of $274.87. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $251.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $254.16. The company has a market capitalization of $43.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.83, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.75.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 3rd. The company reported $3.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.46 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $2.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.67 billion. Constellation Brands had a net margin of 22.70% and a return on equity of 23.72%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.91 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Constellation Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.01 per share. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 14th. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.10%.

Insider Transactions at Constellation Brands

In other news, CFO Garth Hankinson sold 13,583 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 11,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,808,480. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Constellation Brands news, Director Daniel J. Mccarthy sold 1,854 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.43, for a total transaction of $468,005.22. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,232 shares in the company, valued at approximately $815,853.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Garth Hankinson sold 13,583 shares of Constellation Brands stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 11,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,808,480. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 16,414 shares of company stock worth $3,982,922 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 12.19% of the company’s stock.

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.