Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST Shares Acquired by Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership

Key Points

• Arrowstreet Capital increased its Monster Beverage stake by 16.2% in the fourth quarter, buying 861,215 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 6.18 million shares worth about $473.5 million.
• Monster Beverage reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.58 versus the $0.53 estimate and revenue of $2.32 billion versus the $2.16 billion consensus, while revenue rose 22.6% year over year.
• The company also announced a $500 million share repurchase program, while recent insider activity showed notable selling, including moves by Director Mark J. Hall and CEO Guy Carling.

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 16.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,176,347 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 861,215 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned approximately 0.63% of Monster Beverage worth $473,541,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,841 shares of the company's stock worth $371,000 after buying an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. grew its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 6,134 shares of the company's stock worth $470,000 after buying an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 4,071 shares of the company's stock worth $312,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,171 shares of the company's stock worth $320,000 after buying an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sage Mountain Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 11,123 shares of the company's stock worth $853,000 after buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company's stock.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

Monster Beverage stock opened at $92.83 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $90.79 billion, a PE ratio of 44.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $82.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $79.26. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 12 month low of $58.09 and a 12 month high of $93.08.

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

Monster Beverage announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Friday, May 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 0.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MNST. Argus raised their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $100.00 to $96.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Monster Beverage from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (up from $80.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Friday, May 8th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $89.35.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Monster Beverage news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 54,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.81, for a total value of $4,633,740.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 299,246 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,678,299.26. This trade represents a 15.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Guy Carling sold 19,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.90, for a total value of $1,727,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 21,863 shares in the company, valued at $1,987,346.70. The trade was a 46.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 178,700 shares of company stock valued at $15,457,562. 8.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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