Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 3,218 Shares of Molson Coors Beverage (NYSE:TAP)

Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Molson Coors Beverage (NYSE:TAP) by 7.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 41,804 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,218 shares during the period. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Molson Coors Beverage were worth $2,396,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its holdings in shares of Molson Coors Beverage by 7.8% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 27,485 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,581,000 after buying an additional 1,980 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in Molson Coors Beverage by 23.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 716,311 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,202,000 after purchasing an additional 134,689 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in Molson Coors Beverage by 25.4% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 32,090 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,846,000 after purchasing an additional 6,503 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its position in Molson Coors Beverage by 927.7% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 79,617 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,580,000 after purchasing an additional 71,870 shares during the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in shares of Molson Coors Beverage in the third quarter worth approximately $59,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.46% of the company’s stock.

Molson Coors Beverage Price Performance

Shares of NYSE TAP opened at $60.52 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $58.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.72. Molson Coors Beverage has a fifty-two week low of $49.19 and a fifty-two week high of $69.18. The company has a market capitalization of $12.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.81.

Molson Coors Beverage (NYSE:TAP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.13. Molson Coors Beverage had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 8.17%. The business had revenue of $2.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.71 billion. Analysts expect that Molson Coors Beverage will post 6.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Molson Coors Beverage Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.11%. This is an increase from Molson Coors Beverage’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. Molson Coors Beverage’s dividend payout ratio is 35.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on TAP. Bank of America raised shares of Molson Coors Beverage from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $57.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Molson Coors Beverage from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $72.00 price target on shares of Molson Coors Beverage in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Molson Coors Beverage from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Molson Coors Beverage from $58.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Molson Coors Beverage presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $63.60.

About Molson Coors Beverage

Molson Coors Beverage Company manufactures, markets, and sells beer and other malt beverage products under various brands in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company offers flavored malt beverages including hard seltzers, craft, spirits and energy, and ready to drink beverages.