Savant Capital LLC Decreases Stake in Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST

Key Points

• Savant Capital LLC cut its Monster Beverage stake by 58.5% in the fourth quarter, reducing its holdings to 10,034 shares worth about $769,000.
• Monster Beverage posted better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.58 versus $0.53 expected and revenue of $2.32 billion, up 22.6% year over year.
• The company’s board authorized a $500 million share buyback, while insiders also sold shares recently, including the CFO and a director, as analysts remain broadly positive with a Moderate Buy consensus.

Savant Capital LLC lowered its stake in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 58.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,034 shares of the company's stock after selling 14,152 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC's holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $769,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MNST. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 508.1% in the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 377 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 136.7% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 355 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 1,338.7% in the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 446 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the third quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the third quarter worth $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.36% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised shares of Monster Beverage from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $76.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Monster Beverage from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $100.00 price target on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $103.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Monster Beverage presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $89.05.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

MNST stock opened at $88.24 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $86.30 billion, a PE ratio of 42.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.54. The firm's fifty day moving average is $79.04 and its 200 day moving average is $78.15. Monster Beverage Corporation has a one year low of $58.09 and a one year high of $89.86.

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

Monster Beverage announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Friday, May 15th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 0.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In related news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 62,553 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,492,778.93. This trade represents a 10.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark J. Hall sold 54,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.81, for a total transaction of $4,633,740.00. Following the sale, the director owned 299,246 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,678,299.26. This represents a 15.29% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 159,700 shares of company stock worth $13,730,462. 8.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Monster Beverage Company 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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