Naples Money Management LLC Takes $83,000 Position in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Naples Money Management LLC bought a new stake in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 343 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $83,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in STZ. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 84,839.5% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,742,434 shares of the company’s stock valued at $867,309,000 after purchasing an additional 3,738,028 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Constellation Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $373,796,000. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 102.0% in the 2nd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,937,570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $723,027,000 after purchasing an additional 1,483,668 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in Constellation Brands by 31.3% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,809,273 shares of the company’s stock worth $882,799,000 after buying an additional 908,486 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Darsana Capital Partners LP increased its holdings in Constellation Brands by 288.9% in the third quarter. Darsana Capital Partners LP now owns 875,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $219,914,000 after buying an additional 650,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

STZ has been the topic of a number of research reports. TheStreet downgraded Constellation Brands from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Friday, January 5th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Constellation Brands from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Constellation Brands from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Argus upgraded Constellation Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $306.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Constellation Brands from $295.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $298.55.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,512,503.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 16.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Constellation Brands Stock Performance

Shares of STZ traded up $2.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $260.70. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,506,594 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,277,388. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $221.81 and a one year high of $274.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.66 billion, a PE ratio of 27.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.97. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $257.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $247.21.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. Constellation Brands had a return on equity of 23.06% and a net margin of 16.13%. Constellation Brands’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.98 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.51 EPS for the current year.

Constellation Brands Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd will be given a $1.01 dividend. This is a boost from Constellation Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. This represents a $4.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 2nd. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.95%.

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 Premier, Corona Familiar, Corona Light, Corona Refresca, Corona Hard Seltzer, Modelo Especial, Modelo Negra, Modelo Chelada, Victoria, Vicky Chamoy, and Pacifico brands.