Analysts Set Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) Price Target at $298.20

Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the nineteen research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seventeen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $298.37.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on STZ shares. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $305.00 target price on shares of Constellation Brands in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Constellation Brands from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. HSBC raised their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Constellation Brands from $295.00 to $288.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th.

Constellation Brands Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:STZ opened at $263.50 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $255.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $252.70. Constellation Brands has a one year low of $227.50 and a one year high of $274.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.22 billion, a PE ratio of 28.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.89.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.16. The business 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 was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.98 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Constellation Brands will post 13.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Constellation Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd were given a $1.01 dividend. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.53%. This is an increase from Constellation Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 2nd. 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 transaction of $4,160,345.03. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 20,910 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,512,503.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP James A. Jr. Sabia sold 15,781 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,512,503.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael Mcgrew sold 3,237 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.50, for a total value of $827,053.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $442,270.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 48,031 shares of company stock worth $12,582,321. Company insiders own 12.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Constellation Brands

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in STZ. Aviva PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 182.6% in the 3rd quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 18,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,648,000 after purchasing an additional 11,948 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in Constellation Brands by 65.4% during the third quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 2,532 shares of the company’s stock worth $636,000 after acquiring an additional 1,001 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 127.8% in the third quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 16,353 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,110,000 after acquiring an additional 9,174 shares during the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 12,016 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,020,000 after purchasing an additional 1,253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Korea Investment CORP grew its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 164,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,250,000 after purchasing an additional 16,340 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.34% 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.