Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST Shares Sold by Capital International Ltd. CA

Key Points

• Capital International Ltd. CA cut its Monster Beverage stake by 16.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 22,739 shares and leaving it with 115,692 shares worth about $8.87 million.
• Monster Beverage reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.58 versus $0.53 expected and revenue of $2.32 billion versus $2.16 billion forecast, as revenue rose 22.6% year over year.
• The company also announced a $500 million share repurchase program, while analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.05.

Capital International Ltd. CA reduced its stake in shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 16.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 115,692 shares of the company's stock after selling 22,739 shares during the period. Capital International Ltd. CA's holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $8,870,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MNST. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $636,000. 111 Capital acquired a new position in Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $342,000. Vestcor Inc lifted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 30.3% in the fourth quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 173,337 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,290,000 after acquiring an additional 40,346 shares during the last quarter. Pinebridge Investments LLC acquired a new position in Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $20,874,000. Finally, Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lifted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 330,941 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,373,000 after acquiring an additional 19,100 shares during the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In other news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 owned 62,553 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,492,778.93. This represents a 10.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.74, for a total value of $857,400.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 71,763 shares in the company, valued at $6,152,959.62. This represents a 12.23% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 159,700 shares of company stock valued at $13,730,462. 8.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Monster Beverage Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ MNST opened at $89.55 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $87.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.26, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.54. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 52-week low of $58.09 and a 52-week high of $90.44. The business's 50 day moving average is $80.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.60.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 26.86% and a net margin of 23.11%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.47 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 2.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Monster Beverage announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Friday, May 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 0.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MNST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price objective on Monster Beverage from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (up from $80.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Friday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Monster Beverage from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 4th. Evercore upped their price objective on Monster Beverage from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $103.00 price objective on Monster Beverage and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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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