Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST Shares Acquired by Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its position in shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) by 6.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 327,398 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,514 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $25,102,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MNST. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in Monster Beverage by 136.7% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 355 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in Monster Beverage by 1,338.7% in the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 446 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 415 shares during the period. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage in the third quarter worth $36,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage in the third quarter worth $42,000. Finally, KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage in the third quarter worth $45,000. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MNST has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $103.00 target price on Monster Beverage and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Citigroup increased their target price on Monster Beverage from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Argus increased their target price on Monster Beverage from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Wall Street Zen lowered Monster Beverage from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Monster Beverage from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.35.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In related news, CEO Guy Carling sold 19,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 21,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,987,346.70. This represents a 46.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.74, for a total transaction of $857,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 71,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,152,959.62. The trade was a 12.23% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 178,700 shares of company stock worth $15,457,562. 8.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Monster Beverage Stock Up 0.4%

MNST stock opened at $93.23 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $91.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.04, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $82.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $79.43. Monster Beverage Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $58.09 and a fifty-two week high of $93.30.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 23.11% and a return on equity of 26.86%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.47 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 2.31 EPS for the current year.

Monster Beverage announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Friday, May 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 0.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.