Washington Trust Bank Reduces Position in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Washington Trust Bank decreased its stake in shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ - Free Report) by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,540 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,430 shares during the period. Washington Trust Bank's holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $11,220,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of STZ. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Constellation Brands in the first quarter valued at about $45,000. Advisory Services Network LLC grew its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 10.1% during the 1st quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 11,514 shares of the company's stock worth $3,129,000 after purchasing an additional 1,055 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its position in Constellation Brands by 13.6% during the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 21,168 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,753,000 after purchasing an additional 2,531 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 71.0% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 3,316 shares of the company's stock valued at $901,000 after purchasing an additional 1,377 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Insight Advisors LLC PA acquired a new stake in shares of Constellation Brands during the 1st quarter valued at $202,000. 77.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on STZ shares. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Constellation Brands from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. TD Cowen cut shares of Constellation Brands from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $300.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $308.00 price objective on shares of Constellation Brands in a report on Friday, October 4th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Constellation Brands from $315.00 to $305.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Constellation Brands from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Constellation Brands presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $290.47.

Constellation Brands Stock Up 1.6 %

STZ traded up $3.70 on Thursday, hitting $233.28. The company had a trading volume of 1,461,627 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,199,642. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $224.76 and a 52-week high of $274.87. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $245.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $249.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 75.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.90.

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

Constellation Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be given a dividend of $1.01 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. Constellation Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 130.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Constellation Brands news, Director Robert Sands sold 119,274 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.37, for a total transaction of $28,908,439.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 431,729 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $104,638,157.73. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Robert Sands sold 119,274 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 431,729 shares in the company, valued at $104,638,157.73. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO William A. Newlands sold 7,426 shares of Constellation Brands stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,725,683.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 128,210 shares of company stock valued at $31,040,994 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 12.19% 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.