Strs Ohio Sells 9,213 Shares of Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST

Strs Ohio cut its stake in shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) by 5.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 148,864 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,213 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $10,787,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Monster Beverage by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,841 shares of the company’s stock valued at $371,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 6,134 shares of the company’s stock worth $470,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $361,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 4,071 shares of the company’s stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Earned Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,171 shares of the company’s stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Monster Beverage news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 62,553 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,492,778.93. This trade represents a 10.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Mark J. Hall sold 54,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.81, for a total transaction of $4,633,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 299,246 shares in the company, valued at $25,678,299.26. The trade was a 15.29% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 178,700 shares of company stock worth $15,457,562. 8.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

Shares of Monster Beverage stock opened at $97.60 on Monday. Monster Beverage Corporation has a one year low of $58.09 and a one year high of $98.93. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $88.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $81.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.53.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.47 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MNST has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Monster Beverage from $87.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. TD Cowen reduced their price target 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. Morgan Stanley set a $103.00 price objective on shares of Monster Beverage and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Friday, June 12th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.35.

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.