Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 13,776 Shares of Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group raised its stake in Monster Beverage by 1.2% in Q4, purchasing 13,776 shares and now owning 1,206,217 shares (≈0.12% of the company) valued at $92,481,000.
• Monster beat Q4 expectations with $0.51 EPS vs. $0.49 consensus and revenue of $2.10 billion vs. $2.04 billion, with revenue up 17.6% year-over-year and a net margin of 22.97%.
• The stock has a market cap of $75.49 billion and a P/E of 39.79, and analysts hold a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with a $85.90 price target (15 Buys, 7 Holds).

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,206,217 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 13,776 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of Monster Beverage worth $92,481,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Monster Beverage by 508.1% in the 3rd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 377 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Monster Beverage by 136.7% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 355 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised 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 worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the period. Finally, First Horizon Corp purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors own 72.36% of the company's stock.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

MNST opened at $77.20 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.49 billion, a PE ratio of 39.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.50. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $76.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.90. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 52-week low of $58.09 and a 52-week high of $87.38.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.02. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 27.38% and a net margin of 22.97%.The company had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.39 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 2.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MNST has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Monster Beverage from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group set a $100.00 price objective on Monster Beverage in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised Monster Beverage from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $76.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday. BNP Paribas Exane raised Monster Beverage from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $77.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $86.00 price objective on Monster Beverage in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $85.90.

Monster Beverage 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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