Legal & General Group Plc Sells 361,674 Shares of Molson Coors Beverage Company $TAP

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc cut its stake in Molson Coors Beverage by 44.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 361,674 shares and leaving it with 455,884 shares valued at about $21.3 million.
• Molson Coors reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.62 versus the $0.36 estimate and revenue of $2.35 billion, while also posting 2.0% year-over-year revenue growth.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share, implying a 4.9% annualized yield, while Wall Street currently rates the stock a consensus Hold with an average price target of $45.29.

Legal & General Group Plc reduced its stake in Molson Coors Beverage Company (NYSE:TAP - Free Report) by 44.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 455,884 shares of the company's stock after selling 361,674 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.23% of Molson Coors Beverage worth $21,281,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Molson Coors Beverage by 32.9% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 800 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Molson Coors Beverage by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 22,904 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,069,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Molson Coors Beverage by 64.2% during the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 565 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Molson Coors Beverage by 84.1% during the 4th quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 534 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Molson Coors Beverage by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 6,717 shares of the company's stock worth $304,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.46% of the company's stock.

Molson Coors Beverage Stock Performance

Shares of TAP stock opened at $39.49 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.71 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.54. Molson Coors Beverage Company has a 52 week low of $39.39 and a 52 week high of $54.82. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $45.94.

Molson Coors Beverage (NYSE:TAP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $2.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.33 billion. Molson Coors Beverage had a positive return on equity of 9.79% and a negative net margin of 16.14%.The business's revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.50 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Molson Coors Beverage Company will post 4.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Molson Coors Beverage Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.9%. Molson Coors Beverage's dividend payout ratio is currently -18.05%.

Insider Transactions at Molson Coors Beverage

In other news, Director Andrew Thomas Molson bought 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $46.67 per share, with a total value of $93,340.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 24,654 shares in the company, valued at $1,150,602.18. This represents a 8.83% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Geoffrey E. Molson sold 1,245 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.50, for a total transaction of $52,912.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 9,871 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $419,517.50. This trade represents a 11.20% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 2.27% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on TAP shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Molson Coors Beverage from $48.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Molson Coors Beverage from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Molson Coors Beverage from $43.00 to $41.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Zacks Research upgraded Molson Coors Beverage from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded Molson Coors Beverage from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $50.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Molson Coors Beverage presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $45.29.

About Molson Coors Beverage

Molson Coors Beverage Company is a leading multinational brewing and beverage enterprise formed through the 2005 merger of Canada's Molson and the United States' Coors. The company develops, markets and distributes an array of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, focusing primarily on beer and ready-to-drink products. Its portfolio spans flagship brands such as Coors Light, Molson Canadian and Miller Lite, alongside craft-style offerings like Blue Moon and global imports including Carling and Staropramen.

In addition to its core beer business, Molson Coors has expanded into adjacent categories to capture evolving consumer tastes.

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