Franklin Resources Inc. Buys 317,907 Shares of Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST

Key Points

• Franklin Resources increased its stake in Monster Beverage by 7.4% in the fourth quarter, buying 317,907 shares and bringing its holdings to 4,625,502 shares worth about $354.6 million.
• Monster Beverage reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.58 versus estimates of $0.53 and revenue of $2.32 billion versus $2.16 billion expected. Revenue rose 22.6% year over year.
• The company’s board approved a $500 million stock buyback, while analysts currently rate the stock a “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $89.05.

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 7.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,625,502 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 317,907 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.47% of Monster Beverage worth $354,637,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MNST. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,980,692 shares of the company's stock worth $5,212,080,000 after purchasing an additional 497,108 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in Monster Beverage by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,719,091 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,538,872,000 after purchasing an additional 2,789,273 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Monster Beverage by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,625,097 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,509,369,000 after purchasing an additional 330,766 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Monster Beverage by 6.3% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,675,603 shares of the company's stock worth $785,885,000 after buying an additional 692,192 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter worth $691,104,000. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Monster Beverage news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 54,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.81, for a total value of $4,633,740.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 299,246 shares in the company, valued at $25,678,299.26. The trade was a 15.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.74, for a total transaction of $857,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 71,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,152,959.62. This represents a 12.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 159,700 shares of company stock valued at $13,730,462. Company insiders own 8.10% of the company's stock.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MNST opened at $88.47 on Tuesday. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 1 year low of $58.09 and a 1 year high of $90.44. The company has a market capitalization of $86.52 billion, a PE ratio of 42.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.54. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $80.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $78.76.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.16 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 26.86% and a net margin of 23.11%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.47 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Monster Beverage announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Friday, May 15th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 0.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MNST shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Monster Beverage from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Argus lifted their price target on Monster Beverage from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised Monster Beverage from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $76.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Monster Beverage from $85.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $100.00 target price on Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $89.05.

Monster Beverage 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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