Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) Plans Dividend Increase - $1.01 Per Share

Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, April 12th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be paid a dividend of 1.01 per share on Friday, May 17th. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. This is a boost from Constellation Brands's previous quarterly dividend of $0.89.

Constellation Brands has increased its dividend payment by an average of 5.0% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 3 consecutive years. Constellation Brands has a dividend payout ratio of 23.6% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Constellation Brands to earn $13.28 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.56 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 26.8%.

Constellation Brands Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE STZ traded down $6.10 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $262.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,629,263 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,257,423. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $256.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $247.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.46. Constellation Brands has a 1 year low of $221.81 and a 1 year high of $274.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.97.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.16. Constellation Brands had a net margin of 14.76% and a return on equity of 23.35%. The business had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.98 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Constellation Brands will post 11.91 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on STZ shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Constellation Brands from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $312.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. TheStreet downgraded shares of Constellation Brands from a "b" rating to a "c+" rating in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $309.00 to $301.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Constellation Brands presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $298.11.

Institutional Trading of Constellation Brands

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of STZ. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Constellation Brands by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,601,280 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,902,327,000 after purchasing an additional 313,344 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its position in Constellation Brands by 31.3% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,809,273 shares of the company's stock valued at $882,799,000 after purchasing an additional 908,486 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Constellation Brands by 84,839.5% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,742,434 shares of the company's stock valued at $867,309,000 after purchasing an additional 3,738,028 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its position in Constellation Brands by 102.0% in the 2nd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,937,570 shares of the company's stock valued at $723,027,000 after purchasing an additional 1,483,668 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Constellation Brands by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,863,322 shares of the company's stock valued at $645,055,000 after purchasing an additional 50,672 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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 Premier, Corona Familiar, Corona Light, Corona Refresca, Corona Hard Seltzer, Modelo Especial, Modelo Negra, Modelo Chelada, Victoria, Vicky Chamoy, and Pacifico brands.