Axiom Investors LLC DE Decreases Stock Holdings in Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST

Axiom Investors LLC DE trimmed its position in shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) by 71.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,844 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,726 shares during the period. Axiom Investors LLC DE’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $295,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Portfolio Design Labs LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter valued at about $225,000. Westerkirk Capital Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. Westerkirk Capital Inc. now owns 9,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $744,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter valued at about $573,000. TIAA Trust National Association increased its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 4,519 shares of the company’s stock valued at $346,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 241,790 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,542,000 after acquiring an additional 7,698 shares in the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 1.2%

Monster Beverage stock opened at $91.21 on Thursday. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 12 month low of $58.09 and a 12 month high of $91.47. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $81.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $79.02. The firm has a market cap of $89.20 billion, a PE ratio of 44.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.54.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.47 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 2.31 EPS for the current 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 reacquire up to 0.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MNST. Evercore upped their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Bank of America cut 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Monster Beverage from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.05.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 88,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.96, for a total transaction of $7,624,652.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 81,763 shares in the company, valued at $7,028,347.48. This trade represents a 52.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Mark J. Hall sold 54,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director owned 299,246 shares in the company, valued at $25,678,299.26. This trade represents a 15.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 159,700 shares of company stock worth $13,730,462 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 8.10% 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.