Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Acquires 19,942 Shares of Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST

Key Points

• Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its Monster Beverage stake by 20.1% in the fourth quarter, adding 19,942 shares and bringing its total holdings to 119,275 shares worth about $9.17 million.
• Monster Beverage reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $0.58 beating estimates and revenue of $2.32 billion topping forecasts, while revenue rose 22.6% year over year.
• The company’s board authorized a $500 million share buyback, and analysts remain generally constructive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $88.89.

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 20.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 119,275 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 19,942 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans' holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $9,165,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. ABN AMRO Bank N.V. purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the third quarter worth $59,170,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 880,061 shares of the company's stock worth $67,738,000 after buying an additional 95,606 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,605,873 shares of the company's stock worth $122,303,000 after buying an additional 116,510 shares during the period. Inscription Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 130.6% in the third quarter. Inscription Capital LLC now owns 25,260 shares of the company's stock worth $1,700,000 after buying an additional 14,305 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 2,436.3% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 57,371 shares of the company's stock worth $3,862,000 after buying an additional 55,109 shares during the period. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on MNST. Jefferies Financial Group set a $100.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Monster Beverage from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 4th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $88.00 to $80.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $88.89.

Monster Beverage Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of Monster Beverage stock opened at $86.35 on Wednesday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $77.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $76.92. The company has a market cap of $84.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.72, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.50. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 12-month low of $58.09 and a 12-month high of $88.77.

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

Monster Beverage announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Friday, May 15th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 0.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

In other Monster Beverage news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of the business'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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 62,553 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,492,778.93. The trade was a 10.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark J. Hall sold 54,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.81, for a total transaction of $4,633,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 299,246 shares in the company, valued at $25,678,299.26. This represents a 15.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 159,700 shares of company stock valued at $13,730,462. 8.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Monster Beverage

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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