Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) Shares Bought by iA Global Asset Management Inc.

Key Points

• iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Monster Beverage Corporation by 9.7%, owning 124,868 shares valued at approximately $7.31 million as of the latest filing with the SEC.
• Monster Beverage reported $0.47 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates of $0.46, but its revenue was down 2.3% year-over-year, totaling $1.85 billion.
• Brokerages have varying outlooks on the stock, with price targets ranging from $50 to $70, and a current consensus rating of "Hold" with a target of $61.91.

iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 9.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 124,868 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 11,002 shares during the quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $7,307,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Monster Beverage Trading Up 6.4%

Shares of MNST traded up $3.89 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $64.69. The company had a trading volume of 12,216,027 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,160,069. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $57.99. The company has a quick ratio of 2.78, a current ratio of 3.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market cap of $63.09 billion, a PE ratio of 40.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.55. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 1-year low of $45.19 and a 1-year high of $66.75.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 20.54% and a return on equity of 28.71%. Monster Beverage's quarterly revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.41 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. CICC Research raised shares of Monster Beverage from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the company from $56.00 to $65.00 in a report on Monday, May 12th. Bank of America upped their target price on Monster Beverage from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Piper Sandler upgraded Monster Beverage from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $54.00 to $74.00 in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $64.22.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In other Monster Beverage news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 27,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 69,273 shares in the company, valued at $4,391,908.20. The trade was a 28.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 8,796 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,590,232.46. This represents a 8.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 8.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Monster Beverage Company 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.