Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $300.00 to $295.00. The stock had previously closed at $241.67, but opened at $232.83. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Constellation Brands shares last traded at $232.64, with a volume of 402,343 shares changing hands.

STZ has been the topic of a number of other research reports. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $315.00 to $305.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $298.00 price target on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Constellation Brands from $305.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 26th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Constellation Brands from $265.00 to $255.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Constellation Brands from $309.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $289.16.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO William A. Newlands sold 7,426 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.24, for a total value of $1,761,744.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 7,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,725,683.76. This represents a 50.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Wildstar Partners Llc sold 660 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.00, for a total value of $159,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,736,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $418,589,044. This trade represents a 0.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 189,956 shares of company stock valued at $46,058,091. Insiders own 12.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Constellation Brands

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in STZ. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in Constellation Brands by 12.0% in the first quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 9,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,288,000 after acquiring an additional 974 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Constellation Brands by 51.5% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 14,557 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,957,000 after purchasing an additional 4,949 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in Constellation Brands during the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. acquired a new position in Constellation Brands in the first quarter valued at about $603,000. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Constellation Brands during the first quarter worth about $561,000. Institutional investors own 77.34% of the company’s stock.

Constellation Brands Trading Up 1.0 %

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $242.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $247.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The company has a market cap of $42.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.90.

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

Constellation Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th were issued a dividend of $1.01 per share. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 5th. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 130.74%.

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.