Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST

Key Points

• Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Monster Beverage Corporation by 79.5%, owning 21,396 shares valued at $1.25 million.
• Multiple institutional investors have also boosted their positions, resulting in 72.36% of Monster Beverage's stock being held by such entities.
• Monster Beverage's recent quarterly earnings surpassed expectations, posting $0.52 EPS against an anticipated $0.48, with revenue increasing by 11.1% year-over-year.

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 79.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,396 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,474 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $1,252,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MNST. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 28,702 shares of the company's stock worth $1,509,000 after acquiring an additional 6,538 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 27.2% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 114,094 shares of the company's stock worth $5,997,000 after acquiring an additional 24,396 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,303,477 shares of the company's stock worth $173,632,000 after acquiring an additional 400,278 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 33.5% during the 4th quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 29,519 shares of the company's stock worth $1,552,000 after acquiring an additional 7,412 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,509 shares of the company's stock worth $1,025,000 after acquiring an additional 1,148 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company's stock.

Monster Beverage Stock Down 2.4%

NASDAQ:MNST traded down $1.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $62.84. 4,681,285 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,841,054. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.55. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 1 year low of $45.70 and a 1 year high of $66.75.

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. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 27.46% and a net margin of 20.54%.The company had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.41 EPS. The company's revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In other Monster Beverage news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 27,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,391,908.20. This trade represents a 28.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 10,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.73, for a total value of $637,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 51,191 shares in the company, valued at $3,262,402.43. This trade represents a 16.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 8.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MNST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Monster Beverage from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Roth Capital reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $60.00 target price (up previously from $56.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. UBS Group raised their target price on Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Redburn Atlantic lowered Monster Beverage from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $63.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on Monster Beverage in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. They set a "buy" rating and a $72.00 target price on the stock. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Monster Beverage currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $65.10.

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.