Constellation Brands Inc $STZ Shares Sold by Linscomb Wealth Inc.

Key Points

• Linscomb Wealth Inc. cut its Constellation Brands stake by 88.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 11,071 shares and leaving it with 1,467 shares worth about $202,000.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but generally constructive: the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus rating with an average price target of $175.26, though Bank of America recently lowered its target and kept an underperform rating.
• Constellation Brands reported quarterly EPS of $1.90, beating estimates, and also raised its dividend to $1.03 per share, but shares were down 2.4% and were trading below both their 50-day and 200-day moving averages.

Linscomb Wealth Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Constellation Brands Inc (NYSE:STZ - Free Report) by 88.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,467 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,071 shares during the quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc.'s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $202,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Constellation Brands by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,202,611 shares of the company's stock worth $2,451,346,000 after acquiring an additional 573,766 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in Constellation Brands by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,337,054 shares of the company's stock worth $584,135,000 after acquiring an additional 28,036 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Constellation Brands by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,739,549 shares of the company's stock worth $513,871,000 after acquiring an additional 54,184 shares in the last quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC raised its stake in Constellation Brands by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 3,710,940 shares of the company's stock worth $499,752,000 after acquiring an additional 35,085 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Constellation Brands by 76.7% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,126,644 shares of the company's stock worth $421,059,000 after acquiring an additional 1,356,903 shares in the last quarter. 77.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on STZ. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Constellation Brands in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Constellation Brands from $154.00 to $152.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Constellation Brands from $146.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Constellation Brands from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $142.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Evercore set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Constellation Brands and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Constellation Brands presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $175.26.

Insider Buying and Selling at Constellation Brands

In other news, EVP James O. Bourdeau sold 4,407 shares of Constellation Brands stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.24, for a total value of $631,258.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 9,109 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,304,773.16. The trade was a 32.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 12.45% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Constellation Brands Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of NYSE:STZ opened at $138.78 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $23.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.47, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.43. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $152.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $149.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. Constellation Brands Inc has a fifty-two week low of $126.45 and a fifty-two week high of $180.41.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 8th. The company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. Constellation Brands had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 26.18%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.63 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Constellation Brands Inc will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Constellation Brands Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 29th were issued a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 29th. This is a positive change from Constellation Brands's previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Constellation Brands's payout ratio is presently 42.96%.

Constellation Brands Profile

Constellation Brands, Inc is a leading producer and marketer of beer, wine and spirits, with operations spanning production, importation, marketing and distribution. The company's beverage portfolio includes a range of premium and mainstream wines and spirits alongside major imported beer brands; in the U.S. market Constellation is widely known for its role in bringing Mexican imports such as Corona and Modelo to American consumers. Constellation supplies retail, on‑premise and foodservice channels and supports its brands with national sales and marketing platforms and supply‑chain capabilities.

The company traces its roots to the Canandaigua Wine Company, founded by Marvin Sands in 1945, and evolved through organic growth and acquisition into a diversified beverage company.

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