ABN AMRO Bank N.V. Lowers Stock Position in Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST

Key Points

• ABN AMRO Bank N.V. reduced its Monster Beverage stake by 17.2% in the first quarter, selling 177,424 shares and ending with 854,360 shares worth about $62.4 million.
• Monster Beverage’s latest quarterly results topped expectations, with EPS of $0.58 on revenue of $2.32 billion, and revenue rose 22.6% year over year.
• The company also approved a $500 million stock buyback, while several analysts maintained positive views; the consensus rating remains Moderate Buy with an average price target of $89.35.

ABN AMRO Bank N.V. cut its stake in shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 17.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 854,360 shares of the company's stock after selling 177,424 shares during the period. ABN AMRO Bank N.V. owned approximately 0.09% of Monster Beverage worth $62,371,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 7.3% in the first quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 5,029 shares of the company's stock valued at $364,000 after buying an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the first quarter valued at approximately $7,289,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its stake in Monster Beverage by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 21,712 shares of the company's stock worth $1,573,000 after buying an additional 1,016 shares during the period. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage during the 1st quarter worth approximately $982,000. Finally, RFG Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 175.2% during the 1st quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 8,508 shares of the company's stock worth $616,000 after buying an additional 5,416 shares in the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on MNST. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $88.00 to $80.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Monster Beverage in a research report on Friday, June 12th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Monster Beverage from $100.00 to $96.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Monster Beverage from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Monster Beverage from $87.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $89.35.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Guy Carling sold 19,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.90, for a total value of $1,727,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 21,863 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,987,346.70. This represents a 46.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.81, for a total value of $614,670.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 62,553 shares in the company, valued at $5,492,778.93. This trade represents a 10.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 178,700 shares of company stock valued at $15,457,562 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 8.10% of the company's stock.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:MNST opened at $96.38 on Friday. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 52 week low of $58.09 and a 52 week high of $97.87. The company's 50 day moving average is $85.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.58. The company has a market cap of $94.26 billion, a PE ratio of 46.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.54.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 23.11% and a return on equity of 26.86%. The company's revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.47 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 2.31 EPS for the current year.

Monster Beverage declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Friday, May 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase 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 stock is undervalued.

Monster Beverage Company 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MNST? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.