Clearbridge Investments LLC Decreases Holdings in Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST

Clearbridge Investments LLC decreased its position in shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) by 11.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,023,538 shares of the company’s stock after selling 951,359 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $538,495,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 136.7% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 355 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 1,338.7% during the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 446 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MNST shares. Argus boosted their price target on Monster Beverage from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Monster Beverage from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Monster Beverage from $100.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 10th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Monster Beverage from $88.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Monster Beverage from $87.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.05.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

MNST stock opened at $89.55 on Friday. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 1 year low of $58.09 and a 1 year high of $90.44. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $80.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $78.60. The firm has a market cap of $87.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.26, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.54.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last issued its quarterly 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.47 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Monster Beverage announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Friday, May 15th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 0.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Monster Beverage news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.81, for a total transaction of $614,670.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 62,553 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,492,778.93. This represents a 10.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 value 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 159,700 shares of company stock valued at $13,730,462 in the last quarter. 8.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Monster Beverage 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.