Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Sells 3,402 Shares of Constellation Brands Inc $STZ

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. reduced its position in shares of Constellation Brands Inc (NYSE:STZ) by 75.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,128 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,402 shares during the quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $156,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in STZ. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 23.0% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,001 shares of the company’s stock valued at $221,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Constellation Brands during the 1st quarter valued at about $2,409,000. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 69.9% during the 2nd quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 1,026 shares of the company’s stock valued at $167,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 17,347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,822,000 after purchasing an additional 599 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 23,732 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,861,000 after purchasing an additional 1,127 shares during the period. 77.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on STZ shares. TD Cowen upgraded Constellation Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $142.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Constellation Brands from $154.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Constellation Brands from $155.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on Constellation Brands from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Evercore set a $175.00 price objective on Constellation Brands and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report 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 given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.37.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP James O. Bourdeau sold 4,407 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.24, for a total value of $631,258.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 9,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,304,773.16. The trade was a 32.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 12.45% of the company’s stock.

Constellation Brands Stock Down 0.9%

NYSE STZ opened at $149.50 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $152.73 and its 200 day moving average is $148.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. Constellation Brands Inc has a 12 month low of $126.45 and a 12 month high of $186.40. The stock has a market cap of $25.74 billion, a PE ratio of 15.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.43.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 8th. The company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.19. Constellation Brands had a return on equity of 26.18% and a net margin of 17.29%.The company had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.63 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Constellation Brands Inc will post 11.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Constellation Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 29th were issued a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 29th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. This is a boost from Constellation Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Constellation Brands’s payout ratio is presently 42.96%.

About Constellation Brands

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.