Xponance LLC Sells 11,367 Shares of Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST

Xponance LLC reduced its stake in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 259,884 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,367 shares during the period. Xponance LLC’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $19,925,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in Monster Beverage by 136.7% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Monster Beverage by 1,338.7% during the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage during the third quarter valued at about $36,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage during the third quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage during the third quarter valued at about $42,000. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In other news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 88,700 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 81,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,028,347.48. This represents a 52.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Mark J. Hall sold 54,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the director directly owned 299,246 shares in the company, valued at $25,678,299.26. The trade was a 15.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 159,700 shares of company stock valued at $13,730,462. 8.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Monster Beverage Stock Up 0.9%

Monster Beverage stock opened at $92.03 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $90.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.46, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.54. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $81.75 and its 200 day moving average is $79.16. Monster Beverage Corporation has a twelve month low of $58.09 and a twelve month high of $92.46.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 26.86% and a net margin of 23.11%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.47 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 2.31 EPS for the current year.

Monster Beverage announced that its Board of Directors has initiated 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 buy up to 0.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MNST. Evercore boosted their target price on Monster Beverage from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Monster Beverage from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised Monster Beverage from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $76.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $100.00 target price on Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Argus boosted their target price on Monster Beverage from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.05.

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.