Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) Position Lowered by ING Groep NV

Key Points

• ING Groep NV has decreased its stake in Monster Beverage Corporation by 61.5%, owning 43,563 shares worth approximately $2.55 million following the sale of 69,628 shares in the 1st quarter.
• Several institutional investors, including Invesco Ltd. and Northern Trust Corp, have increased their stakes in Monster Beverage, demonstrating strong interest from hedge funds.
• Monster Beverage's earnings report revealed $0.47 EPS, which exceeded analyst expectations, although revenue fell short of projections, showing a year-over-year decline of 2.3%.

ING Groep NV reduced its position in shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 61.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 43,563 shares of the company's stock after selling 69,628 shares during the period. ING Groep NV's holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $2,549,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MNST. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its stake in Monster Beverage by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 4,887 shares of the company's stock valued at $286,000 after buying an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its holdings in Monster Beverage by 37.1% in the 1st quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 724 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Monster Beverage by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 11,838 shares of the company's stock valued at $622,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Conning Inc. raised its holdings in Monster Beverage by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 5,853 shares of the company's stock valued at $343,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank raised its holdings in Monster Beverage by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 7,527 shares of the company's stock valued at $440,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Monster Beverage Stock Up 6.4%

NASDAQ MNST traded up $3.89 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $64.69. The company had a trading volume of 12,216,027 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,160,069. Monster Beverage Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $45.19 and a fifty-two week high of $66.75. The company has a market capitalization of $63.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 3.37 and a quick ratio of 2.78. The firm's 50 day moving average is $61.53 and its 200 day moving average is $57.88.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 8,796 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.46, for a total transaction of $549,398.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 89,501 shares in the company, valued at $5,590,232.46. This trade represents a 8.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 27,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $4,391,908.20. This represents a 28.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 8.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler upgraded Monster Beverage from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $54.00 to $74.00 in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $68.00 price target on Monster Beverage and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company set a $73.00 price target on Monster Beverage and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on Monster Beverage in a report on Thursday, June 12th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $72.00 price target for the company. Finally, 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $64.22.

Monster Beverage 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.