Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Raises Position in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST)

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Monster Beverage by 11.1% in Q1, owning approximately 1.35 million shares worth $79.2 million.
• Monster Beverage reported $0.52 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate of $0.48, with revenue growing 11.1% year-over-year to $2.11 billion.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Monster Beverage, with a consensus price target of $64.90 and 13 analysts issuing a "buy" rating.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 11.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,353,500 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 135,188 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.14% of Monster Beverage worth $79,207,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Monster Beverage by 5,095.6% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,063,351 shares of the company's stock valued at $179,267,000 after acquiring an additional 3,004,391 shares in the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at $121,575,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at $110,942,000. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 54.7% in the 1st quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 5,366,126 shares of the company's stock valued at $303,728,000 after purchasing an additional 1,897,466 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 5,880.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,254,259 shares of the company's stock valued at $73,399,000 after purchasing an additional 1,233,286 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 8,796 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.46, for a total value of $549,398.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 89,501 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,590,232.46. This represents a 8.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 27,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.40, for a total value of $1,711,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 69,273 shares in the company, valued at $4,391,908.20. This represents a 28.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 7.80% of the company's stock.

Monster Beverage Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of MNST stock traded down $1.03 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $63.66. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,589,813 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,221,710. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 52-week low of $45.70 and a 52-week high of $66.75. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $61.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 3.00 and a current ratio of 3.52. The stock has a market cap of $62.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.54, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.55.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.04. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 27.46% and a net margin of 20.54%. The company had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.41 earnings per share. Monster Beverage's revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MNST shares. Wells Fargo & Company set a $73.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Monster Beverage from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the company from $54.00 to $74.00 in a research report on Thursday. CICC Research upgraded Monster Beverage from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $56.00 to $65.00 in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic downgraded Monster Beverage from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $63.00 to $60.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $64.90.

Monster Beverage 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.