BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Increases Stake in Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST

Key Points

• BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S significantly increased its stake in Monster Beverage Corporation by 186.3% during the first quarter, reaching a total of 84,525 shares valued at approximately $4.95 million.
• Several institutional investors have also made substantial changes, with 72.36% of Monster Beverage's stock now held by institutional investors and hedge funds.
• Wall Street analysts have raised their price targets for Monster Beverage, with Goldman Sachs and Bank of America setting their price objectives at $72, indicating strong analyst confidence in the stock.

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 186.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 84,525 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 55,006 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S's holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $4,946,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Monster Beverage by 1.8% during the first quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 14,813 shares of the company's stock worth $867,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Financial Advisors Network Inc. bought a new stake in Monster Beverage during the first quarter worth about $2,552,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Monster Beverage during the first quarter worth about $2,320,000. Korea Investment CORP boosted its stake in Monster Beverage by 73.6% during the first quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 473,150 shares of the company's stock worth $27,689,000 after acquiring an additional 200,557 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Monster Beverage by 79.5% during the first quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 21,396 shares of the company's stock worth $1,252,000 after acquiring an additional 9,474 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.36% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In other news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 27,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.40, for a total transaction of $1,711,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 69,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,391,908.20. The trade was a 28.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director directly owned 51,191 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,262,402.43. This represents a 16.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 8.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Monster Beverage from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $74.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Monster Beverage from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $63.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $65.10.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Shares of MNST traded down $1.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $62.84. 4,681,285 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,841,054. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $61.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $59.15. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 1 year low of $45.70 and a 1 year high of $66.75. The stock has a market cap of $61.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.55.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts' expectations of $2.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.41 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

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.