Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. Has $7.09 Million Stock Holdings in Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST

Key Points

• Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada sharply increased its Monster Beverage stake in Q1, buying 94,582 more shares and bringing its total to 95,576 shares worth about $7.09 million.
• Monster Beverage reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $0.58 per share and revenue of $2.32 billion, both ahead of analyst expectations and up 22.6% year over year.
• The company’s board authorized a $500 million share buyback, while several insiders sold stock recently; the stock was trading near its 52-week high at $97.60.

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its stake in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 9,515.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 95,576 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 94,582 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.'s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $7,088,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,841 shares of the company's stock worth $371,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. grew its stake in Monster Beverage by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 6,134 shares of the company's stock valued at $470,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC increased its position in Monster Beverage by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,981 shares of the company's stock worth $361,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its position in Monster Beverage by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 4,071 shares of the company's stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Earned Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,171 shares of the company's stock worth $320,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MNST shares. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Monster Beverage from $88.00 to $80.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $87.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (up from $80.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $89.35.

Insider Activity

In other Monster Beverage news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 54,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.81, for a total value of $614,670.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 62,553 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,492,778.93. This represents a 10.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 178,700 shares of company stock worth $15,457,562 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 8.10% of the company's stock.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

Shares of MNST stock opened at $97.60 on Monday. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 12 month low of $58.09 and a 12 month high of $98.93. The company has a market cap of $95.45 billion, a PE ratio of 47.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.53. The business's 50 day moving average is $88.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.46.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 23.11% and a return on equity of 26.86%. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.47 earnings per share. Monster Beverage's revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 2.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Monster Beverage declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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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