Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST Shares Sold by Panagora Asset Management Inc.

Key Points

• Panagora Asset Management cut its Monster Beverage stake by 51.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 476,574 shares and leaving it with 456,392 shares worth about $35.0 million.
• Monster Beverage reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $0.58 beating estimates of $0.53 and revenue of $2.32 billion topping expectations, while sales rose 22.6% year over year.
• The company also announced a $500 million share repurchase program, and analysts remain mostly positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.35.

Panagora Asset Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 51.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 456,392 shares of the company's stock after selling 476,574 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $34,992,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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. increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the 3rd quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the 3rd quarter worth about $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company's stock.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 0.4%

MNST stock opened at $93.23 on Tuesday. Monster Beverage Corporation has a one year low of $58.09 and a one year high of $93.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.18 billion, a PE ratio of 45.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.54. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $82.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $79.43.

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

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $100.00 to $96.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $88.00 to $80.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $89.35.

Insider Activity

In other Monster Beverage news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 54,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.81, for a total transaction of $4,633,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 299,246 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,678,299.26. This represents a 15.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Guy Carling sold 19,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.90, for a total transaction of $1,727,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 21,863 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,987,346.70. This trade represents a 46.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 178,700 shares of company stock valued at $15,457,562 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 8.10% of the company's stock.

Monster Beverage 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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