Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST)

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

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 259.2% in the fourth quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 686 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 495 shares in the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. CVA Family Office LLC grew its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 28.6% in the first quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the company's stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 338 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter worth $101,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In other news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 8,796 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.46, for a total value of $549,398.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 89,501 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,590,232.46. This represents a 8.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 27,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.40, for a total transaction of $1,711,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 69,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,391,908.20. The trade was a 28.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 8.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

MNST traded down $0.48 on Friday, reaching $62.57. The company had a trading volume of 3,783,578 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,999,072. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $62.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $56.51. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 1 year low of $43.32 and a 1 year high of $64.45. The company has a quick ratio of 2.78, a current ratio of 3.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.02 billion, a PE ratio of 41.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.59.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.01. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 20.27% and a return on equity of 27.46%. The business 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 business's revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MNST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Roth Capital boosted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Two equities research 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $62.05.

Monster Beverage Company 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.