WMS Group LLC Sells 10,912 Shares of Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST

Key Points

• WMS Group LLC cut its stake in Monster Beverage by 75.6% in the first quarter, selling 10,912 shares and ending with 3,528 shares worth about $256,000.
• Insiders have been selling as well, including Emelie Tirre and CEO Guy Carling, with company insiders selling a total of 178,700 shares worth $15.46 million over the last three months.
• Monster Beverage reported strong quarterly results with EPS of $0.58 and revenue of $2.32 billion, and the company also authorized a $500 million share repurchase program.

WMS Group LLC lowered its position in shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 75.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,528 shares of the company's stock after selling 10,912 shares during the quarter. WMS Group LLC's holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $256,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 136.7% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 355 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in Monster Beverage by 1,338.7% during the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 446 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in Monster Beverage in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

In other Monster Beverage news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 88,700 shares of Monster Beverage 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 sale, the insider directly owned 81,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,028,347.48. The trade was a 52.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Guy Carling sold 19,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.90, for a total transaction of $1,727,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 21,863 shares in the company, valued at $1,987,346.70. This trade represents a 46.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 178,700 shares of company stock worth $15,457,562 in the last three months. 8.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $103.00 price target on shares of Monster Beverage and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. 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. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised Monster Beverage from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $76.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Monster Beverage from $88.00 to $80.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Monster Beverage from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $89.35.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

NASDAQ MNST opened at $96.38 on Friday. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 52 week low of $58.09 and a 52 week high of $97.87. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $85.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $80.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.56, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.54.

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

Monster Beverage announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share 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 reacquire up to 0.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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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