ING Groep NV Buys 72,291 Shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

ING Groep NV grew its stake in shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 387.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 90,955 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 72,291 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV owned approximately 0.05% of Constellation Brands worth $23,438,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new stake in Constellation Brands in the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in Constellation Brands during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN purchased a new stake in Constellation Brands in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Constellation Brands during the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Constellation Brands in the second quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors own 77.34% of the company’s stock.

Constellation Brands Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:STZ opened at $241.99 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $244.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $248.30. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $224.76 and a one year high of $274.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.90.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 3rd. The company reported $4.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.08 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. Constellation Brands had a net margin of 5.29% and a return on equity of 25.34%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.70 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.57 EPS for the current year.

Constellation Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be paid a $1.01 dividend. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 5th. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 130.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Constellation Brands from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. TD Cowen cut shares of Constellation Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $300.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Constellation Brands from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Constellation Brands from $307.00 to $293.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Constellation Brands from $305.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Constellation Brands currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $290.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert Sands sold 119,274 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.37, for a total value of $28,908,439.38. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 431,729 shares in the company, valued at approximately $104,638,157.73. The trade was a 21.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO William A. Newlands sold 7,426 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 7,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,725,683.76. This represents a 50.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 128,210 shares of company stock worth $31,040,994. 12.19% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.