TCW Group Inc. Makes New Investment in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST)

Key Points

• TCW Group Inc. has acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage Corporation by purchasing 10,155 shares valued at approximately $594,000 during the first quarter.
• Analysts have mixed forecasts for Monster Beverage's stock, with price targets ranging from $40.00 to $72.00 and a current consensus rating of "Hold".
• The company recently reported earnings of $0.47 per share for the quarter, beating estimates, but noted a 2.3% decline in revenue compared to the same period last year.

TCW Group Inc. bought a new position in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 10,155 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $594,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 4.0% in the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 961,553 shares of the company's stock worth $56,157,000 after purchasing an additional 37,307 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in Monster Beverage by 5.1% in the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 163,962 shares of the company's stock worth $9,595,000 after acquiring an additional 7,891 shares in the last quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Monster Beverage by 11.3% in the first quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC now owns 19,980 shares of the company's stock worth $1,199,000 after acquiring an additional 2,027 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC grew its position in Monster Beverage by 2.5% in the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 26,004 shares of the company's stock worth $1,522,000 after acquiring an additional 625 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Monster Beverage by 62.7% in the first quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,963 shares of the company's stock worth $1,110,000 after acquiring an additional 7,309 shares in the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MNST shares. Roth Mkm upped their target price on Monster Beverage from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Bank of America upped their target price on Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Monster Beverage from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, CICC Research raised Monster Beverage from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the company from $56.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $61.91.

Monster Beverage Stock Up 2.0%

Monster Beverage stock traded up $1.18 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $61.39. 5,311,428 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,777,792. The business has a fifty day moving average of $62.04 and a 200 day moving average of $57.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.78 and a current ratio of 3.37. The firm has a market cap of $59.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.39, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.59. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 12-month low of $43.32 and a 12-month high of $64.45.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.01. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 27.46% and a net margin of 20.27%. The company had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.42 earnings per share. Monster Beverage's revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

In related news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 8,796 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.46, for a total value of $549,398.16. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 89,501 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,590,232.46. This represents a 8.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 27,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.40, for a total value of $1,711,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 69,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Corporate insiders own 7.80% of the company's stock.

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.