Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) Shares Bought by Westfield Capital Management Co. LP

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP raised its position in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 24.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 435,356 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 85,974 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $105,247,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in STZ. Skopos Labs Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Constellation Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $404,000. Hoylecohen LLC increased its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Hoylecohen LLC now owns 13,773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,330,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. HCR Wealth Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 43.7% in the 4th quarter. HCR Wealth Advisors now owns 8,821 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,133,000 after purchasing an additional 2,682 shares in the last quarter. Team Hewins LLC purchased a new position in shares of Constellation Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $398,000. Finally, Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX purchased a new position in shares of Constellation Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,508,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

STZ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. HSBC increased their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $292.00 to $314.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $256.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $298.55.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Constellation Brands news, CEO William A. Newlands sold 25,000 shares of Constellation Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.54, for a total transaction of $6,538,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,844,638. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO William A. Newlands sold 25,000 shares of Constellation Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.54, for a total transaction of $6,538,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,700 shares in the company, valued at $3,844,638. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP James A. Jr. Sabia sold 15,781 shares of Constellation Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.63, for a total transaction of $4,160,345.03. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 20,910 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,512,503.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 48,031 shares of company stock valued at $12,582,321. Insiders own 16.19% of the company’s stock.

Constellation Brands Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of STZ traded up $3.39 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $248.51. The company had a trading volume of 1,503,979 shares, compared to its average volume of 898,891. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $260.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $250.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $227.50 and a 1-year high of $274.87. The stock has a market cap of $45.47 billion, a PE ratio of 26.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.95.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.16. Constellation Brands had a net margin of 16.13% and a return on equity of 23.06%. The business had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.98 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Constellation Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd were given a $1.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 2nd. This is a boost from Constellation Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. This represents a $4.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.07%.

Constellation Brands 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.