Alliancebernstein L.P. Lowers Position in Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. has reduced its stake in Monster Beverage Corporation by 3.5% in the first quarter, now holding approximately 38.9 million shares valued at around $2.28 billion.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Aptus Capital Advisors LLC and Baird Financial Group Inc., have increased their holdings in Monster Beverage, indicating ongoing institutional interest in the stock.
• Monster Beverage reported earnings of $0.52 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a revenue increase of 11.1% year-over-year totaling $2.11 billion.

Alliancebernstein L.P. cut its stake in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 3.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 38,934,396 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,397,413 shares during the period. Monster Beverage accounts for approximately 0.8% of Alliancebernstein L.P.'s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 3.99% of Monster Beverage worth $2,278,441,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MNST. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 138.6% during the fourth quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 11,922 shares of the company's stock valued at $627,000 after purchasing an additional 6,926 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 43,364 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,279,000 after purchasing an additional 3,555 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 226,001 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,879,000 after purchasing an additional 27,272 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 297,144 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,618,000 after purchasing an additional 28,739 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $192,000. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.73, for a total transaction of $637,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 51,191 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,262,402.43. The trade was a 16.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 7.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ:MNST opened at $62.67 on Wednesday. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 12 month low of $45.70 and a 12 month high of $66.75. The company has a market cap of $61.19 billion, a PE ratio of 38.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.85.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.04. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 20.54% and a return on equity of 27.46%. The firm had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.41 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MNST. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. CICC Research upgraded shares of Monster Beverage from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $56.00 to $65.00 in a report on Monday, May 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $73.00 price objective on shares of Monster Beverage and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Monster Beverage currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $65.10.

About Monster Beverage

Monster Beverage Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in development, marketing, sale, and distribution of energy drink beverages and concentrates in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Monster Energy Drinks, Strategic Brands, Alcohol Brands, and Other.

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