Kentucky Trust Co Makes New $242,000 Investment in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new stake in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 1,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $242,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in Constellation Brands in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Constellation Brands by 887.5% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in shares of Constellation Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Constellation Brands during the third quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Constellation Brands during the fourth quarter worth approximately $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

STZ has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $315.00 to $305.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Monday, November 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $261.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Constellation Brands from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $245.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Roth Capital cut their price target on Constellation Brands from $298.00 to $284.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Constellation Brands from $270.00 to $260.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $254.29.

Constellation Brands Price Performance

Shares of STZ opened at $164.59 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 1.10. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $161.00 and a fifty-two week high of $274.87. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $207.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $230.56. The company has a market capitalization of $29.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.90.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 10th. The company reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by ($0.08). The company 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 26.55% and a net margin of 6.27%. The firm’s revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.19 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Constellation Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a $1.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.45%. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 108.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP James A. Jr. Sabia sold 36,086 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.99, for a total transaction of $8,768,537.14. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,898,045.58. This represents a 69.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO William A. Newlands sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.58, for a total transaction of $6,089,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 7,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,771,800.92. This trade represents a 77.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 61,746 shares of company stock worth $15,017,097. 12.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.