Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST Shares Purchased by Ethic Inc.

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. increased its stake in Monster Beverage Corporation by 165.5%, now owning 36,019 shares worth approximately $2.2 million.
• Monster Beverage reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.52, surpassing analyst estimates, with a 20.54% net margin and revenues of $2.11 billion.
• Several hedge funds have recently established new positions in Monster Beverage, contributing to institutional investors owning 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Ethic Inc. boosted its holdings in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 165.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 36,019 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 22,453 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $2,223,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MNST. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in Monster Beverage in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in Monster Beverage in the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Webster Bank N. A. acquired a new position in Monster Beverage in the second quarter worth approximately $38,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. grew its position in Monster Beverage by 37.1% in the first quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 724 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in Monster Beverage in the first quarter worth approximately $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company's stock.

Monster Beverage Stock Down 0.3%

Monster Beverage stock opened at $69.69 on Friday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $65.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $62.73. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 12 month low of $45.70 and a 12 month high of $70.72. The stock has a market cap of $68.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.54.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.04. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 20.54% and a return on equity of 27.46%. The business had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.41 EPS. Monster Beverage's revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In other news, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.73, for a total transaction of $637,300.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 51,191 shares in the company, valued at $3,262,402.43. The trade was a 16.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 8.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Monster Beverage from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Monster Beverage from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $63.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $79.00 price objective (up from $76.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $66.43.

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.

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