Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Stock Set to Split on Tuesday, August 11th

Key Points

• Monster Beverage is scheduled to complete a 2-for-1 stock split on Tuesday, August 11, with new shares distributed after the close on Monday, August 10.
• The company recently posted strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, with earnings of $0.58 per share on $2.32 billion in revenue and 22.6% year-over-year revenue growth.
• Monster also has a $500 million share buyback program in place, while Wall Street remains generally positive with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $94.65.

Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) shares are scheduled to split on the morning of Tuesday, August 11th. The 2-1 split was announced on Wednesday, July 8th. The newly created shares will be distributed to shareholders after the closing bell on Monday, August 10th.

Monster Beverage Trading Down 0.1%

NASDAQ:MNST opened at $93.49 on Friday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $92.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.50. The company has a market cap of $91.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.53. Monster Beverage has a twelve month low of $58.09 and a twelve month high of $100.34.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.47 earnings per share. Monster Beverage's quarterly revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Monster Beverage will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Monster Beverage declared 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 purchase 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 stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MNST shares. Morgan Stanley set a $103.00 target price on Monster Beverage and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Monster Beverage from $100.00 to $96.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 10th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $84.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Monster Beverage from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Thursday. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $94.65.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In related news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 54,000 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the director directly owned 299,246 shares in the company, valued at $25,678,299.26. This trade represents a 15.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Guy Carling sold 19,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.90, for a total value of $1,727,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 21,863 shares of the company's stock, 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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 178,700 shares of company stock valued at $15,457,562. Corporate insiders own 8.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Monster Beverage

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MNST. Tema ETFs LLC grew its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 10.4% in the second quarter. Tema ETFs LLC now owns 15,451 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,485,000 after purchasing an additional 1,450 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 372,947 shares of the company's stock worth $35,848,000 after buying an additional 4,413 shares in the last quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors purchased a new position in Monster Beverage in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $238,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. boosted its position in Monster Beverage by 464.0% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 1,675 shares of the company's stock valued at $161,000 after buying an additional 1,378 shares during the period. Finally, Harrell Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in Monster Beverage by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 33,190 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,190,000 after buying an additional 439 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company's stock.

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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