Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) Shares Sold by Nomura Holdings Inc.

Nomura Holdings Inc. lowered its position in shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 95.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 22,057 shares of the company’s stock after selling 425,164 shares during the period. Nomura Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $5,332,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Aviva PLC lifted its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 182.6% in the 3rd quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 18,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,648,000 after buying an additional 11,948 shares during the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Constellation Brands by 11.6% in the third quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 12,016 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,020,000 after acquiring an additional 1,253 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Constellation Brands in the third quarter valued at approximately $758,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. bought a new position in shares of Constellation Brands during the third quarter valued at approximately $4,355,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 28.0% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 233,654 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,724,000 after purchasing an additional 51,041 shares during the period. 77.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Constellation Brands

In related news, CEO William A. Newlands sold 4,013 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.25, for a total transaction of $1,056,422.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 5,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,420,233.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Constellation Brands news, CEO William A. Newlands sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.54, for a total value 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 approximately $3,844,638. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO William A. Newlands sold 4,013 shares of Constellation Brands stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.25, for a total value of $1,056,422.25. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 5,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,420,233.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 48,031 shares of company stock valued at $12,582,321 over the last three months. 12.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on STZ. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Constellation Brands from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Bank of America increased their price target on Constellation Brands from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Argus upgraded shares of Constellation Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $306.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $292.00 to $314.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Constellation Brands in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Constellation Brands presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $298.20.

Constellation Brands Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE STZ traded up $0.14 on Tuesday, hitting $262.48. 55,984 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,185,601. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $255.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $252.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.53. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $227.50 and a 52-week high of $274.87. The company has a market capitalization of $48.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.89.

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

Constellation Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd were issued a $1.01 dividend. This is an increase from Constellation Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio 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.