Moran Wealth Management LLC Has $12.03 Million Stake in Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST

Key Points

• Moran Wealth Management cut its Monster Beverage position by 7.3% in the first quarter, though it still held 166,020 shares valued at about $12.03 million.
• Monster Beverage posted better-than-expected quarterly results, with earnings of $0.58 per share and revenue of $2.32 billion, both topping analyst estimates and showing 22.6% revenue growth year over year.
• The company’s board authorized a $500 million share buyback, while insider selling remained notable, including stock sales by the CEO and CFO over the past quarter.

Moran Wealth Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 7.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 166,020 shares of the company's stock after selling 13,167 shares during the period. Moran Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $12,030,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the first quarter worth $4,206,000. World Investment Advisors grew its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 18.5% in the first quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 9,744 shares of the company's stock valued at $706,000 after acquiring an additional 1,519 shares in the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 5.3% in the first quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,687 shares of the company's stock valued at $340,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Optas LLC increased its position in Monster Beverage by 2.0% during the first quarter. Optas LLC now owns 10,114 shares of the company's stock worth $733,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the period. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in Monster Beverage during the first quarter worth about $12,319,000. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Guy Carling sold 19,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were 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 owned 21,863 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,987,346.70. This represents a 46.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $5,492,778.93. This represents a 10.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 178,700 shares of company stock valued at $15,457,562 over the last quarter. 8.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MNST opened at $97.60 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.15, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.53. The stock's fifty day moving average is $88.09 and its 200 day moving average is $81.41. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 52 week low of $58.09 and a 52 week high of $98.93.

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

Monster Beverage announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan 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 plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on MNST. Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded shares of Monster Beverage from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $76.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $88.00 to $80.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Monster Beverage from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $89.35.

About Monster Beverage

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.