Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Acquires 643,544 Shares of Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST

Key Points

• Jupiter Asset Management dramatically increased its Monster Beverage stake in Q4, buying 643,544 additional shares and lifting its holdings to 701,618 shares worth about $53.8 million.
• Monster Beverage reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with earnings per share of $0.58 and revenue of $2.32 billion, both ahead of analyst estimates, while revenue rose 22.6% year over year.
• The company also announced a $500 million share buyback, even as insiders sold stock recently and analysts remained broadly positive with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy.”

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. raised its holdings in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 1,108.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 701,618 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 643,544 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. owned 0.07% of Monster Beverage worth $53,793,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 508.1% in the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 377 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in Monster Beverage by 136.7% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 355 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in Monster Beverage by 1,338.7% in the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 446 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In other Monster Beverage news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 88,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.96, for a total value of $7,624,652.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 81,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,028,347.48. This represents a 52.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through 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 stock was sold at an average price of $87.81, for a total transaction of $614,670.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 62,553 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,492,778.93. This trade represents a 10.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 159,700 shares of company stock worth $13,730,462. Insiders own 8.10% of the company's stock.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

Shares of Monster Beverage stock opened at $87.99 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $77.91. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 1 year low of $58.09 and a 1 year high of $89.85. The company has a market capitalization of $86.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.50.

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

Monster Beverage declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Friday, May 15th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 0.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MNST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Monster Beverage from $88.00 to $80.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 20th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded shares of Monster Beverage from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $76.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Evercore boosted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $88.89.

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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