Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) Given New $220.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) had its price objective reduced by Morgan Stanley from $280.00 to $220.00 in a research note published on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $308.00 price target on shares of Constellation Brands in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Constellation Brands from $293.00 to $262.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Constellation Brands from $270.00 to $260.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $255.00 price target (down from $300.00) on shares of Constellation Brands in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $298.00 price objective on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $268.05.

Constellation Brands Price Performance

NYSE STZ opened at $185.84 on Monday. 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 stock has a market cap of $33.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.14, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.75. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $230.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $240.79. Constellation Brands has a 52-week low of $176.51 and a 52-week high of $274.87.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 10th. The company reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.33 by ($0.08). Constellation Brands had a return on equity of 25.34% and a net margin of 5.29%. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.19 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Constellation Brands will post 13.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Constellation Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a $1.01 dividend. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 130.74%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO William A. Newlands sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.58, for a total value of $6,089,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 7,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,771,800.92. The trade was a 77.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Wildstar Partners Llc sold 660 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.00, for a total transaction of $159,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,736,884 shares in the company, valued at $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. Insiders sold a total of 188,446 shares of company stock valued at $45,687,281 over the last ninety days. 12.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in STZ. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 23,184.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 499,689 shares of the company’s stock valued at $128,765,000 after buying an additional 497,543 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Constellation Brands by 6.0% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Constellation Brands by 31.8% during the 2nd 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 during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Constellation Brands by 66.3% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 369,966 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,762,000 after acquiring an additional 147,457 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NFJ Investment Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 617.3% during the 3rd quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC now owns 108,382 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,929,000 after acquiring an additional 93,273 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.34% of the company’s stock.

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.