Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST Shares Bought by MUFG Securities EMEA plc

Key Points

• MUFG Securities EMEA plc more than doubled its stake in Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter, increasing holdings by 114.4% to 29,255 shares worth about $2.24 million.
• Monster Beverage reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $0.58 beating estimates and revenue of $2.32 billion topping expectations; revenue rose 22.6% year over year.
• The company’s board approved a $500 million share repurchase program, while insiders recently sold shares and analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Moderate Buy with an average target price of $89.05.

MUFG Securities EMEA plc lifted its position in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 114.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,255 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 15,612 shares during the quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc's holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $2,243,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AdvisorShares Investments LLC acquired a new position in Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $383,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $691,104,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new position in Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $134,431,000. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac acquired a new position in Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $855,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $299,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company's stock.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of MNST stock opened at $89.10 on Tuesday. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 1-year low of $58.09 and a 1-year high of $89.86. The company has a market capitalization of $87.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.54. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $79.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.15.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.47 earnings per share. Monster Beverage's revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 2.31 EPS for the current year.

Monster Beverage declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Friday, May 15th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 0.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Monster Beverage news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 54,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director owned 299,246 shares in the company, valued at $25,678,299.26. The trade was a 15.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 88,700 shares of the business's 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 81,763 shares in the company, valued at $7,028,347.48. This trade represents a 52.03% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 159,700 shares of company stock worth $13,730,462. 8.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on MNST shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Monster Beverage from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Evercore lifted their target price on Monster Beverage from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Monster Beverage from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $100.00 price objective on Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (up from $80.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $89.05.

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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