LPL Financial LLC Boosts Stake in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST)

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Monster Beverage Corporation by 4.0% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 37,307 shares to total 961,553 shares valued at approximately $56 million.
• Insider trading activity showed that CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 27,000 shares at an average price of $63.40, reducing his position by 28.05%, while another insider Emelie Tirre sold 8,796 shares with an 8.95% decrease in their ownership.
• Monster Beverage stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" from analysts, with a consensus target price of $61.91, despite a recent earnings report showing a 2.3% decline in quarterly revenue compared to last year.

LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 4.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 961,553 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 37,307 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Monster Beverage worth $56,157,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MNST. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Monster Beverage by 259.2% during the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 686 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 495 shares during the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. boosted its stake in Monster Beverage by 37.1% during the 1st quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 724 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC boosted its stake in Monster Beverage by 28.6% during the 1st quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the company's stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.36% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MNST. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Monster Beverage from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Monster Beverage from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Rothschild & Co Redburn downgraded Monster Beverage from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $60.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Roth Capital lifted their target price on Monster Beverage from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, CICC Research upgraded Monster Beverage from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $56.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $61.91.

Monster Beverage Trading Down 2.7%

Shares of MNST traded down $1.60 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $58.75. 2,840,501 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,066,041. The stock has a market cap of $57.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.55. The stock's 50-day moving average is $61.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.79. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 12 month low of $43.32 and a 12 month high of $64.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 3.37 and a quick ratio of 2.78.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 27.46% and a net margin of 20.27%. Monster Beverage's quarterly revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.42 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 27,000 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 69,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,391,908.20. This represents a 28.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 8,796 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.46, for a total value of $549,398.16. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 89,501 shares in the company, valued at $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. Corporate insiders own 7.80% of the company's stock.

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.