Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST

Key Points

• Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors increased its Monster Beverage stake by 19.2% in the fourth quarter, buying 27,531 more shares and bringing its total to 170,770 shares worth about $13.1 million.
• Monster Beverage reported strong quarterly results, including EPS of $0.58 versus estimates of $0.53 and revenue of $2.32 billion, up 22.6% year over year.
• The company’s board approved a $500 million share repurchase program, while several insiders recently sold shares and analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $88.89.

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 19.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 170,770 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 27,531 shares during the quarter. Monster Beverage comprises about 0.7% of Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC's holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $13,093,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 508.1% in the 3rd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 377 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 1,338.7% in the 2nd 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 purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.36% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MNST shares. Evercore lifted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $100.00 price target on Monster Beverage in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Monster Beverage from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Monster Beverage from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on Monster Beverage from $100.00 to $96.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $88.89.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

MNST stock opened at $87.42 on Wednesday. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 1 year low of $58.09 and a 1 year high of $88.77. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $78.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $77.62. The firm has a market cap of $85.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.23, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.50.

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

Monster Beverage announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Friday, May 15th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 0.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,152,959.62. This represents a 12.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark J. Hall sold 54,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 299,246 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,678,299.26. The trade was a 15.29% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 159,700 shares of company stock valued at $13,730,462. 8.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Monster Beverage Company 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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