Empower Advisory Group LLC Purchases 77,910 Shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST)

Key Points

• Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in Monster Beverage Corporation by 6.2%, acquiring an additional 77,910 shares during the first quarter, now holding approximately 1.34 million shares valued at $78.4 million.
• Monster Beverage's latest quarterly earnings beat expectations with $0.47 EPS, but the revenue of $1.85 billion fell short of analyst predictions.
• Equity research analysts have recently adjusted their price targets for Monster Beverage, with Goldman Sachs raising its target from $67 to $72 while maintaining a "buy" rating on the stock.

Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 6.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,340,090 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 77,910 shares during the quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC owned 0.14% of Monster Beverage worth $78,422,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,590,994 shares of the company's stock valued at $451,543,000 after acquiring an additional 734,406 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Monster Beverage by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,357,921 shares of the company's stock worth $386,732,000 after purchasing an additional 825,489 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,406,131 shares of the company's stock valued at $284,146,000 after buying an additional 493,914 shares during the last quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 54.7% during the 1st quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 5,366,126 shares of the company's stock worth $303,728,000 after purchasing an additional 1,897,466 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors lifted its position in Monster Beverage by 35.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,020,639 shares of the company's stock worth $211,325,000 after buying an additional 1,059,803 shares during the period. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

NASDAQ MNST traded up $1.30 on Thursday, reaching $60.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,970,490 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,982,686. Monster Beverage Corporation has a twelve month low of $43.32 and a twelve month high of $64.45. The stock has a market cap of $59.30 billion, a PE ratio of 40.00, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.55. The firm's 50 day moving average is $61.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.78 and a current ratio of 3.37.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.04. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 27.46% and a net margin of 20.27%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.41 earnings per share. Monster Beverage's quarterly revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic lowered Monster Beverage from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $63.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $61.91.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Monster Beverage news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 8,796 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.46, for a total value of $549,398.16. Following the transaction, the insider owned 89,501 shares in the company, valued at $5,590,232.46. The trade was a 8.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 27,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.40, for a total value of $1,711,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 69,273 shares in the company, valued at $4,391,908.20. This represents a 28.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 8.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.