Morgan Stanley Cuts Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) Price Target to $220.00

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) had its price objective lowered by Morgan Stanley from $280.00 to $220.00 in a research note released on Monday,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on STZ. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $300.00 to $282.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $270.00 to $260.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $265.00 to $255.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $255.00 price target (down from $300.00) on shares of Constellation Brands in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $308.00 price objective on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $268.05.

Constellation Brands Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of STZ opened at $185.84 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $230.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $240.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.53. Constellation Brands has a one year low of $176.51 and a one year high of $274.87. The company has a market cap of $33.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.75.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The company reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.53 billion. Constellation Brands had a return on equity of 25.34% and a net margin of 5.29%. Constellation Brands’s quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.19 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Constellation Brands will post 13.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Constellation Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a $1.01 dividend. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 130.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO William A. Newlands sold 7,426 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.24, for a total transaction of $1,761,744.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 7,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,725,683.76. This trade represents a 50.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Wildstar Partners Llc sold 660 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.00, for a total value of $159,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,736,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $418,589,044. This trade represents a 0.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 188,446 shares of company stock valued at $45,687,281 over the last quarter. Insiders own 12.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Constellation Brands

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 887.5% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Constellation Brands in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Constellation Brands during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Constellation Brands in the third quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new stake in Constellation Brands in the second quarter valued at approximately $57,000. 77.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Constellation Brands

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.