Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 11,443 Shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 0.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,289,392 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 11,443 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.13% of Monster Beverage worth $75,455,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Monster Beverage by 259.2% during the fourth quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 686 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 495 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC grew its holdings in Monster Beverage by 28.6% during the first quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the company's stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares during the period. Finally, Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter worth about $101,000. Institutional investors own 72.36% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MNST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Monster Beverage from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Monster Beverage from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $62.05.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

Shares of MNST stock traded down $1.02 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $61.83. The company had a trading volume of 1,162,490 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,973,106. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.78 and a current ratio of 3.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.59. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $62.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.63. Monster Beverage Corporation has a one year low of $43.32 and a one year high of $64.45.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.01. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 27.46% and a net margin of 20.27%. The firm had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.42 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 8,796 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 89,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,590,232.46. This represents a 8.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 27,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 69,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. 7.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.