Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST Shares Sold by Capital World Investors

Capital World Investors lowered its holdings in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) by 12.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,401,473 shares of the company’s stock after selling 919,100 shares during the period. Capital World Investors’ holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $490,801,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MNST. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 136.7% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 355 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 1,338.7% in the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 446 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the third quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Monster Beverage during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Shares of MNST opened at $89.55 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $80.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $78.65. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 52 week low of $58.09 and a 52 week high of $90.44. The company has a market capitalization of $87.58 billion, a PE ratio of 43.26, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.54.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 23.11% and a return on equity of 26.86%. The firm had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.47 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Monster Beverage announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Friday, May 15th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 0.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MNST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 price objective (up from $80.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $87.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Monster Beverage from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.05.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In related news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.81, for a total transaction of $614,670.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 62,553 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,492,778.93. The trade was a 10.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 88,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.96, for a total transaction of $7,624,652.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 81,763 shares in the company, valued at $7,028,347.48. The trade was a 52.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 159,700 shares of company stock valued at $13,730,462. Corporate insiders own 8.10% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Profile

Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ: MNST) is an American beverage company best known for its Monster Energy brand of energy drinks. The company’s product portfolio centers on carbonated energy beverages and a range of complementary ready-to-drink offerings, including energy coffees, hydration beverages and other flavored functional drinks. Monster markets multiple sub-brands and flavor variants to address different consumer segments and consumption occasions.

Originally organized around the Hansen’s Natural line of juices and sodas, the company pivoted toward the energy drink category and formally adopted the Monster Beverage name in the early 2010s to reflect its strategic focus.