Inspire Investing LLC Reduces Stock Position in Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST

Inspire Investing LLC trimmed its position in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) by 15.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 44,995 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,494 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $3,029,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $544,584,000. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its position in Monster Beverage by 4,877.8% during the second quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 7,283,879 shares of the company’s stock valued at $456,262,000 after buying an additional 7,137,552 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Monster Beverage by 467.0% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,849,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $422,996,000 after buying an additional 5,641,160 shares during the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd bought a new position in Monster Beverage in the second quarter worth approximately $157,063,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 1,126.9% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,121,758 shares of the company’s stock worth $132,907,000 after acquiring an additional 1,948,827 shares during the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

NASDAQ MNST opened at $77.24 on Thursday. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 1-year low of $45.70 and a 1-year high of $78.31. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $72.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.46 billion, a PE ratio of 43.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.48.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.08. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 21.65% and a return on equity of 27.76%. The company had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.41 earnings per share. Monster Beverage’s quarterly revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MNST shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Monster Beverage from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $79.00 price objective on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Argus raised shares of Monster Beverage to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $73.00 price target (up previously from $53.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Monster Beverage from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $73.95.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In related news, Director Rodney C. Sacks sold 206,543 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total transaction of $15,197,433.94. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Guy Carling sold 38,438 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.33, for a total transaction of $2,741,782.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 21,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,568,760.69. The trade was a 63.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 274,981 shares of company stock worth $20,138,516. Company insiders own 8.30% of the company’s stock.

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.