Hsbc Holdings PLC Grows Stock Position in Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST

Key Points

• HSBC Holdings PLC boosted its Monster Beverage stake by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, buying an additional 75,535 shares and bringing its position to 1,236,988 shares worth about $94.9 million.
• Monster Beverage reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.58 versus the $0.53 consensus and revenue of $2.32 billion, up 22.6% year over year.
• The company authorized a $500 million stock buyback, while analysts remain broadly positive with a “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $89.35.

Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 6.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,236,988 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 75,535 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned 0.13% of Monster Beverage worth $94,887,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in Monster Beverage by 136.7% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 355 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 1,338.7% in the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 446 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the period. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MNST opened at $91.34 on Monday. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 52 week low of $58.09 and a 52 week high of $93.92. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $84.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.54.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 23.11% and a return on equity of 26.86%. The firm had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.47 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 2.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Monster Beverage announced that its board has authorized 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 reacquire up to 0.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MNST has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $103.00 price target on shares of Monster Beverage and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $100.00 price objective on Monster Beverage in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Monster Beverage from $85.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Citigroup increased their target price on Monster Beverage from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Monster Beverage from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 4th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $89.35.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In related news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.74, for a total value of $857,400.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 71,763 shares in the company, valued at $6,152,959.62. This represents a 12.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.81, for a total value of $614,670.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 62,553 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,492,778.93. The trade was a 10.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 178,700 shares of company stock valued at $15,457,562 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 8.10% of the company's stock.

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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