Sather Financial Group Inc Sells 10,287 Shares of Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST

Key Points

• Sather Financial Group trimmed its Monster Beverage position by 1.0% in the first quarter, selling 10,287 shares and leaving it with 990,713 shares worth about $71.8 million.
• Monster Beverage reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $0.58 versus $0.53 expected and revenue of $2.32 billion, up 22.6% year over year.
• The company also announced a $500 million stock repurchase program, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $89.35.

Sather Financial Group Inc reduced its stake in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 1.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 990,713 shares of the company's stock after selling 10,287 shares during the period. Monster Beverage accounts for approximately 4.4% of Sather Financial Group Inc's holdings, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Sather Financial Group Inc owned about 0.10% of Monster Beverage worth $71,787,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MNST. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter valued at about $691,104,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 7,360.7% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,191,407 shares of the company's stock worth $474,695,000 after buying an additional 6,108,420 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 133.4% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,499,546 shares of the company's stock valued at $651,660,000 after acquiring an additional 4,858,109 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,719,091 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,538,872,000 after acquiring an additional 2,789,273 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 71.4% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,033,066 shares of the company's stock valued at $338,765,000 after acquiring an additional 2,096,575 shares during the period. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

In related news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 88,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.96, for a total value of $7,624,652.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 81,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,028,347.48. This trade represents a 52.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.81, for a total transaction of $614,670.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 62,553 shares in the company, valued at $5,492,778.93. The trade was a 10.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 178,700 shares of company stock worth $15,457,562. Company insiders own 8.10% of the company's stock.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Monster Beverage stock traded up $0.32 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $97.69. The stock had a trading volume of 1,199,597 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,781,454. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $88.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.46. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 1-year low of $58.09 and a 1-year high of $99.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.53.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 26.86% and a net margin of 23.11%.The business's revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.47 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Monster Beverage announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Friday, May 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 0.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $88.00 to $80.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 20th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price target (up from $80.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $103.00 price target on shares of Monster Beverage and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $89.35.

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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