Constellation Brands, Inc. to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $1.01 (NYSE:STZ)

Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, January 9th,RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of 1.01 per share on Friday, February 21st. This represents a $4.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.84%.

Constellation Brands has raised its dividend payment by an average of 9.0% per year over the last three years. Constellation Brands has a dividend payout ratio of 24.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Constellation Brands to earn $15.18 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.04 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 26.6%.

Constellation Brands Stock Performance

NYSE:STZ opened at $219.17 on Thursday. Constellation Brands has a fifty-two week low of $217.47 and a fifty-two week high of $274.87. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $233.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $242.30. The company has a market cap of $39.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 70.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31.

Insider Transactions at Constellation Brands

In other news, CEO William A. Newlands sold 7,426 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.24, for a total transaction of $1,761,744.24. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 7,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,725,683.76. This trade represents a 50.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Sands sold 119,274 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.37, for a total value of $28,908,439.38. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 431,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $104,638,157.73. This represents a 21.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 189,956 shares of company stock valued at $46,058,091. 12.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Constellation Brands from $293.00 to $262.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $270.00 to $260.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Monday, November 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $261.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Constellation Brands from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $315.00 to $305.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $284.75.

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.