Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 162,319 Shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its stake in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ - Free Report) by 17.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 791,475 shares of the company's stock after selling 162,319 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.44% of Constellation Brands worth $194,473,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of STZ. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Constellation Brands by 23,184.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 499,689 shares of the company's stock worth $128,765,000 after acquiring an additional 497,543 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Constellation Brands by 6.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,144,428 shares of the company's stock worth $1,841,048,000 after acquiring an additional 402,211 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Constellation Brands by 31.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,002,332 shares of the company's stock worth $257,865,000 after acquiring an additional 241,982 shares in the last quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC raised its stake in Constellation Brands by 617.3% during the third quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC now owns 108,382 shares of the company's stock worth $27,929,000 after acquiring an additional 93,273 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Constellation Brands by 4,601.2% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 87,771 shares of the company's stock worth $22,618,000 after acquiring an additional 85,904 shares in 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 subject of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Constellation Brands from $265.00 to $255.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Roth Mkm reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $298.00 price objective on shares of Constellation Brands in a report on Friday, October 4th. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Constellation Brands in a report on Monday, November 25th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $261.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Constellation Brands from $305.00 to $280.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, UBS Group dropped 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $288.70.

Insider Buying and Selling at Constellation Brands

In other news, Director Robert Sands sold 119,274 shares of Constellation Brands stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.37, for a total transaction of $28,908,439.38. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 431,729 shares in the company, valued at $104,638,157.73. The trade was a 21.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO William A. Newlands sold 7,426 shares of Constellation Brands 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 7,274 shares in the company, valued at $1,725,683.76. The trade was a 50.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 189,956 shares of company stock worth $46,058,091. Corporate insiders own 12.19% of the company's stock.

Constellation Brands Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of STZ stock traded up $0.21 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $239.66. 1,077,313 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,209,297. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $238.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $246.02. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $224.76 and a fifty-two week high of $274.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market cap of $43.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.75.

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

Constellation Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th were paid a dividend of $1.01 per share. This represents a $4.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 5th. Constellation Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 130.74%.

Constellation Brands Company 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.