Prudential PLC Raises Stock Position in Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST

Prudential PLC grew its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) by 179.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 319,832 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 205,545 shares during the period. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $24,522,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vise Technologies Inc. increased its stake in Monster Beverage by 76.2% during the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 18,956 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,453,000 after purchasing an additional 8,195 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in Monster Beverage by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 283,340 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,724,000 after purchasing an additional 24,855 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. increased its stake in Monster Beverage by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 210,876 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,168,000 after purchasing an additional 9,004 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Monster Beverage by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 10,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $789,000 after purchasing an additional 773 shares during the period. Finally, WCG Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter worth about $866,000. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Shares of Monster Beverage stock opened at $88.54 on Friday. Monster Beverage Corporation has a one year low of $58.09 and a one year high of $90.44. The company has a market cap of $86.59 billion, a PE ratio of 42.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.54. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $78.53.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 26.86% and a net margin of 23.11%.The business had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.47 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Monster Beverage declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Friday, May 15th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 0.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MNST. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Monster Beverage from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 price objective (up from $80.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Friday, May 8th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Monster Beverage from $88.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $87.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.05.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In related news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 54,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.81, for a total value of $4,633,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 299,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,678,299.26. This represents a 15.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 62,553 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,492,778.93. This trade represents a 10.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 159,700 shares of company stock valued at $13,730,462 over the last three months. 8.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.