Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST Stock Holdings Lessened by Capital World Investors

Key Points

• Capital World Investors cut its Monster Beverage stake by 12.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 919,100 shares and ending with 6.4 million shares valued at about $490.8 million.
• Monster Beverage reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.58 on revenue of $2.32 billion, both topping analyst forecasts and showing 22.6% year-over-year revenue growth.
• The company also announced a $500 million share buyback program, while analysts remain largely positive with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.05.

Capital World Investors reduced its holdings in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 12.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,401,473 shares of the company's stock after selling 919,100 shares during the quarter. Capital World Investors owned approximately 0.66% of Monster Beverage worth $490,801,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Monster Beverage by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,841 shares of the company's stock valued at $371,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its position in Monster Beverage by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 4,071 shares of the company's stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Monster Beverage by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,171 shares of the company's stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its position in Monster Beverage by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 11,123 shares of the company's stock valued at $853,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sowell Financial Services LLC lifted its position in Monster Beverage by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 5,622 shares of the company's stock valued at $431,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on MNST shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective 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. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (up from $80.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $87.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $89.05.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

MNST stock opened at $89.55 on Monday. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 52 week low of $58.09 and a 52 week high of $90.44. The company has a market capitalization of $87.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.54. The firm's 50-day moving average is $80.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.65.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.47 EPS. Monster Beverage's revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Monster Beverage declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Friday, May 15th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 0.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.81, for a total value of $614,670.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 62,553 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,492,778.93. The trade was a 10.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 10,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.74, for a total transaction of $857,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 159,700 shares of company stock worth $13,730,462. 8.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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