IFM Investors Pty Ltd Boosts Stock Position in Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST

IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its holdings in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) by 5.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 148,647 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,952 shares during the quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $10,771,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MNST. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Monster Beverage by 247.7% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 12,986 shares of the company’s stock valued at $813,000 after purchasing an additional 9,251 shares during the period. Cresset Asset Management LLC increased its position in Monster Beverage by 23.9% during the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 6,652 shares of the company’s stock valued at $417,000 after purchasing an additional 1,281 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in Monster Beverage by 55.9% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 4,798 shares of the company’s stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 1,721 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Monster Beverage by 151.7% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 34,075 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,134,000 after purchasing an additional 20,538 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

MNST stock opened at $97.35 on Thursday. Monster Beverage Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $58.09 and a fifty-two week high of $98.31. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $87.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.13. The company has a market cap of $95.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.53.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last issued its 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 return on equity of 26.86% and a net margin of 23.11%.The company had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.47 earnings per share. Monster Beverage’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Monster Beverage declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase 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 usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MNST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $87.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Monster Beverage in a research report on Friday, June 12th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Monster Beverage from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Monster Beverage has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.35.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

In related news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 88,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.96, for a total value of $7,624,652.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 81,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,028,347.48. This trade represents a 52.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Guy Carling sold 19,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 21,863 shares in the company, valued at $1,987,346.70. This represents a 46.50% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 178,700 shares of company stock valued at $15,457,562 over the last ninety days. 8.10% of the stock is currently 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.