O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) by 17.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 176,814 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,777 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $13,556,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Monster Beverage by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,841 shares of the company’s stock valued at $371,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,171 shares of the company’s stock worth $320,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 11,123 shares of the company’s stock worth $853,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sowell Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 5,622 shares of the company’s stock worth $431,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MNST opened at $90.15 on Wednesday. Monster Beverage Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $58.09 and a fifty-two week high of $90.49. The company has a market cap of $88.17 billion, a PE ratio of 43.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.54. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $80.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.89.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 23.11% and a return on equity of 26.86%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.47 earnings per share. 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 authorized a share repurchase plan on Friday, May 15th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 0.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Monster Beverage from $87.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $100.00 price target on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $100.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley set a $103.00 price objective on shares of Monster Beverage and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

In other news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 88,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.96, for a total transaction of $7,624,652.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 81,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,028,347.48. The trade was a 52.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark J. Hall sold 54,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $25,678,299.26. The trade was 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 quarter, insiders have sold 159,700 shares of company stock worth $13,730,462. 8.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.