Sterling Capital Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST

Sterling Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) by 15.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 61,152 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,398 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $4,431,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Monster Beverage by 2.8% in 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 during the last quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. lifted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 6,134 shares of the company’s stock worth $470,000 after buying an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its stake in Monster Beverage by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 4,071 shares of the company’s stock valued at $312,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sage Mountain Advisors LLC increased its stake in Monster Beverage by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 11,123 shares of the company’s stock worth $853,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 88,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 81,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,028,347.48. This represents a 52.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.81, for a total transaction of $614,670.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 62,553 shares in the company, valued at $5,492,778.93. This trade represents a 10.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 178,700 shares of company stock valued at $15,457,562. 8.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Monster Beverage Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of MNST opened at $96.38 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $85.97 and a 200 day moving average of $80.58. The company has a market cap of $94.26 billion, a PE ratio of 46.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.54. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 52-week low of $58.09 and a 52-week high of $97.87.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last posted 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 net margin of 23.11% and a return on equity of 26.86%. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.47 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Monster Beverage announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Friday, May 15th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 0.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MNST shares. 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 target price for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 price objective (up from $80.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Evercore lifted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded shares of Monster Beverage from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $76.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.