Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST Shares Purchased by Ninety One UK Ltd

Key Points

• Ninety One UK Ltd increased its stake in Monster Beverage by 4.9%, now holding about 8.94 million shares worth approximately $560 million, making it the company's 20th largest shareholder.
• Monster Beverage reported earnings of $0.52 per share for the last quarter, beating analyst expectations and showing an 11.1% revenue increase year-over-year.
• Wall Street analysts have generally rated Monster Beverage positively, with multiple firms raising their price targets, now averaging around $65.19.

Ninety One UK Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,944,479 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 418,918 shares during the quarter. Monster Beverage makes up 1.3% of Ninety One UK Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Ninety One UK Ltd owned approximately 0.92% of Monster Beverage worth $560,282,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its position in Monster Beverage by 4.0% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 4,887 shares of the company's stock valued at $286,000 after buying an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 37.1% in the 1st quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 724 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the period. Conning Inc. raised its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 5,853 shares of the company's stock valued at $343,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the period. Eastern Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 7,527 shares of the company's stock valued at $440,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in Monster Beverage by 21.2% during the 1st quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,314 shares of the company's stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.36% of the company's stock.

Monster Beverage Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ MNST opened at $67.31 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.81, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.54. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $63.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $61.38. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 52-week low of $45.70 and a 52-week high of $67.45.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.04. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 20.54% and a return on equity of 27.46%. The company had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.41 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Monster Beverage from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. UBS Group increased their target price on Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Roth Capital reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $60.00 price target (up from $56.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $65.19.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In other Monster Beverage news, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.73, for a total transaction of $637,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 51,191 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,262,402.43. The trade was a 16.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 7.80% of the company's stock.

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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