Dillon & Associates Inc. Purchases 12,455 Shares of Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST

Key Points

• Dillon & Associates Inc. increased its Monster Beverage stake by 29.6% in the fourth quarter, buying 12,455 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 54,557 shares worth about $4.2 million.
• Insiders have been selling shares, including Director Mark J. Hall and CFO Thomas J. Kelly, with total insider sales over the last quarter reaching 159,700 shares valued at $13.7 million.
• Monster Beverage beat quarterly expectations with EPS of $0.58 and revenue of $2.32 billion, while the board also approved a $500 million share repurchase plan; analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy.

Dillon & Associates Inc. raised its stake in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 29.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 54,557 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 12,455 shares during the period. Dillon & Associates Inc.'s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $4,201,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,841 shares of the company's stock worth $371,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 4,071 shares of the company's stock worth $312,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,171 shares of the company's stock worth $320,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 11,123 shares of the company's stock worth $853,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 3.2% during the third quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,246 shares of the company's stock worth $353,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.36% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In related news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 54,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.81, for a total transaction of $4,633,740.00. Following the sale, the director owned 299,246 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,678,299.26. This trade represents a 15.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 62,553 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,492,778.93. This represents a 10.06% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 159,700 shares of company stock worth $13,730,462. 8.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MNST. Citigroup boosted their price target on Monster Beverage from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Monster Beverage from $87.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Monster Beverage from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price target (up from $80.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on Monster Beverage from $100.00 to $96.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $88.89.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MNST opened at $86.79 on Tuesday. Monster Beverage Corporation has a twelve month low of $58.09 and a twelve month high of $88.77. The company's 50 day moving average is $77.79 and its 200 day moving average is $77.48. The company has a market cap of $84.88 billion, a PE ratio of 41.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.50.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 23.11% and a return on equity of 26.86%. Monster Beverage's quarterly revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.47 EPS. Equities research analysts predict 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 repurchase plan on Friday, May 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 0.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are 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.

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