Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST Shares Purchased by Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund

Key Points

• Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its Monster Beverage stake by 6% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 327,398 shares worth about $25.1 million.
• Monster Beverage reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $0.58 beating estimates and revenue of $2.32 billion topping expectations; revenue also rose 22.6% year over year.
• The company’s board approved a $500 million share buyback, while analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.35.

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its stake in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 327,398 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 18,514 shares during the quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund's holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $25,102,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 136.7% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 355 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 1,338.7% in the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 446 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the period. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in Monster Beverage in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Monster Beverage in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new position in Monster Beverage in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.36% of the company's stock.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 0.4%

Monster Beverage stock opened at $93.23 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $91.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.54. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $82.57 and a 200-day moving average of $79.43. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 52 week low of $58.09 and a 52 week high of $93.30.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.16 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 26.86% and a net margin of 23.11%.The business's revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.47 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Monster Beverage announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Friday, May 15th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 0.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MNST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America decreased their price target on Monster Beverage from $100.00 to $96.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded Monster Beverage from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $76.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Monster Beverage from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Evercore increased 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Monster Beverage from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $89.35.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In related news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.81, for a total transaction of $614,670.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 62,553 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,492,778.93. This represents a 10.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark J. Hall sold 54,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were 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 represents a 15.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 178,700 shares of company stock valued at $15,457,562. 8.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Monster Beverage

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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