Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) Shares Acquired by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Monster Beverage Corporation by 31.7%, acquiring an additional 354,730 shares in the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to approximately 1.47 million shares worth $86.25 million.
• Monster Beverage reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.52, exceeding estimates, and achieved revenue of $2.11 billion, marking an 11.1% increase from the same quarter last year.
• Recent analyst reports show a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Monster Beverage, with a price target average of $64.90, indicating positive investor sentiment.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 31.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,474,222 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 354,730 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.15% of Monster Beverage worth $86,250,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 1.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,786,624 shares of the company's stock worth $3,791,313,000 after acquiring an additional 1,151,175 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Monster Beverage by 6.6% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,154,347 shares of the company's stock valued at $535,712,000 after buying an additional 563,353 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Monster Beverage during the first quarter valued at approximately $497,157,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Monster Beverage by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,357,921 shares of the company's stock valued at $386,732,000 after buying an additional 825,489 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Monster Beverage by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,406,131 shares of the company's stock valued at $284,146,000 after buying an additional 493,914 shares during the period. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Monster Beverage Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of Monster Beverage stock traded up $0.44 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $64.64. The company had a trading volume of 4,845,731 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,720,911. The stock has a market cap of $63.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.15, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.59. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 12-month low of $45.70 and a 12-month high of $66.75.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.04. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 20.54% and a return on equity of 27.46%. The company had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.41 EPS. Monster Beverage's quarterly revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MNST has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered shares of Monster Beverage from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $60.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $73.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. They set a "buy" rating and a $72.00 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $68.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $65.10.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Monster Beverage news, 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 owned 69,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,391,908.20. This trade represents a 28.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.73, for a total value of $637,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 51,191 shares in the company, valued at $3,262,402.43. The trade was a 16.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 8.30% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.