Patton Fund Management Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST

Key Points

• Patton Fund Management cut its Monster Beverage stake by 19.9% in the first quarter, selling 15,119 shares and leaving it with 60,882 shares worth about $4.41 million.
• Several analysts remain bullish on MNST, with recent price target raises from firms including Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley, and Wells Fargo; the stock currently carries a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target of $89.35.
• Monster Beverage reported strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue expectations, and its board authorized a $500 million share repurchase plan, signaling confidence in the company’s valuation.

Patton Fund Management Inc. lessened its stake in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 19.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 60,882 shares of the company's stock after selling 15,119 shares during the period. Monster Beverage makes up approximately 0.7% of Patton Fund Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Patton Fund Management Inc.'s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $4,412,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 136.7% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 355 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 1,338.7% during the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 446 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the period. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MNST shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised 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. Morgan Stanley set a $103.00 price target on shares of Monster Beverage and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Argus lifted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $89.35.

Insider Activity

In other Monster Beverage news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.74, for a total value of $857,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 71,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,152,959.62. This represents a 12.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Guy Carling sold 19,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.90, for a total value of $1,727,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 21,863 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,987,346.70. This represents a 46.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 178,700 shares of company stock valued at $15,457,562 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 8.10% of the company's stock.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Monster Beverage stock opened at $96.38 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $85.97 and a 200 day moving average of $80.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.54. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 12-month low of $58.09 and a 12-month high of $97.87.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last released its 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. The company had revenue of $2.32 billion for 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%. The firm's revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.47 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 2.31 EPS for the current year.

Monster Beverage announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Friday, May 15th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 0.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.