Congress Asset Management Co. Acquires New Shares in Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST

Key Points

• Congress Asset Management Co. has acquired 52,380 shares of Monster Beverage Corporation for approximately $3,281,000, reflecting growing institutional interest in the company.
• Monster Beverage reported quarterly earnings of $0.52 per share, beating analyst estimates and showing a 11.1% increase in revenue year-over-year, totaling $2.11 billion.
• Analyst ratings are mixed, with twelve analysts rating it a Buy, eight a Hold, and two a Sell, indicating strong but varied market sentiment towards Monster Beverage's stock.

Congress Asset Management Co. acquired a new position in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 52,380 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,281,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MNST. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Webster Bank N. A. bought a new position in Monster Beverage during the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. boosted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 37.1% in the first quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 724 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in Monster Beverage in the 1st quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 21.2% in the 1st quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,314 shares of the company's stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.36% of the company's stock.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Shares of MNST stock opened at $65.34 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.80 billion, a PE ratio of 40.58, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.54. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 52-week low of $45.70 and a 52-week high of $67.13.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.04. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 27.46% and a net margin of 20.54%.The firm had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.41 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MNST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Monster Beverage from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $63.00 to $60.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Roth Capital reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $60.00 price objective (up previously from $56.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. UBS Group raised their target price on Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $73.00 target price on Monster Beverage and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Monster Beverage currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $65.19.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In other Monster Beverage news, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 10,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 51,191 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,262,402.43. This trade represents a 16.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 8.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Monster Beverage Profile

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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