Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. Trims Stake in Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST

Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. lessened its holdings in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 340,995 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,581 shares during the period. Monster Beverage accounts for approximately 1.8% of Landscape Capital Management L.L.C.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C.’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $26,144,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in Monster Beverage by 397.9% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 15,201 shares of the company’s stock valued at $890,000 after acquiring an additional 12,148 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Monster Beverage by 247.7% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 12,986 shares of the company’s stock valued at $813,000 after acquiring an additional 9,251 shares during the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC increased its position in Monster Beverage by 23.9% during the second quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 6,652 shares of the company’s stock valued at $417,000 after acquiring an additional 1,281 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in Monster Beverage by 55.9% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 4,798 shares of the company’s stock valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 1,721 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in Monster Beverage by 151.7% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 34,075 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,134,000 after acquiring an additional 20,538 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In related news, CEO Guy Carling sold 19,000 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 21,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,987,346.70. This represents a 46.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,678,299.26. This trade represents a 15.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 178,700 shares of company stock valued at $15,457,562. Company insiders own 8.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MNST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $88.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Friday. They set a “market perform” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.35.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 0.9%

NASDAQ MNST opened at $92.83 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $82.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.26. The stock has a market cap of $90.79 billion, a PE ratio of 44.85, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.54. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 12 month low of $58.09 and a 12 month high of $93.08.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.32 billion for 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 revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.47 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current 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 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 0.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.