Norges Bank Buys Shares of 9,014,004 Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST

Key Points

• Norges Bank initiated a large new position in Monster Beverage, buying 9,014,004 shares valued at about $691.1 million and owning 0.92% of the company.
• 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 expected, while revenue rose 22.6% year over year.
• The company also announced a $500 million share buyback, even as several insiders sold stock and analysts remained generally positive with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy.

Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 9,014,004 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $691,104,000. Norges Bank owned 0.92% of Monster Beverage as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MNST. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in Monster Beverage by 397.9% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 15,201 shares of the company's stock valued at $890,000 after purchasing an additional 12,148 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 247.7% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 12,986 shares of the company's stock valued at $813,000 after acquiring an additional 9,251 shares in the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 23.9% during the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 6,652 shares of the company's stock valued at $417,000 after acquiring an additional 1,281 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 55.9% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 4,798 shares of the company's stock valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 1,721 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 151.7% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 34,075 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,134,000 after acquiring an additional 20,538 shares in the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MNST opened at $88.08 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.14 billion, a PE ratio of 42.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.54. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 1 year low of $58.09 and a 1 year high of $89.85. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $78.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.03.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. The firm 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 for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.47 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Monster Beverage announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Friday, May 15th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 0.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.74, for a total value of $857,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 71,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,152,959.62. This represents a 12.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 62,553 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,492,778.93. This represents a 10.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 159,700 shares of company stock worth $13,730,462. Corporate insiders own 8.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MNST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Evercore boosted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley set a $103.00 price target on shares of Monster Beverage and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $100.00 price target on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. 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, Monster Beverage has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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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