Janus Henderson Group PLC Sells 5,565,130 Shares of Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST

Janus Henderson Group PLC lessened its stake in shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) by 32.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,622,968 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,565,130 shares during the quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $884,262,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MNST. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 205 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position 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 buying an additional 415 shares during the period. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Miller Capital Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on MNST shares. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 target price (up from $80.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Citigroup raised 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. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Monster Beverage from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Argus lifted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.35.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In other news, CEO Guy Carling sold 19,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.90, for a total transaction of $1,727,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 21,863 shares in the company, valued at $1,987,346.70. The trade was a 46.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Mark J. Hall sold 54,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.81, for a total value of $4,633,740.00. Following the sale, the director owned 299,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,678,299.26. The trade was a 15.29% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 178,700 shares of company stock worth $15,457,562. Insiders own 8.10% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Shares of MNST opened at $91.66 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $83.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $79.67. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 52-week low of $58.09 and a 52-week high of $93.92. The company has a market cap of $89.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.28, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.54.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last released its 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. The company had revenue of $2.32 billion during 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.47 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 2.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Monster Beverage announced that its board has authorized 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 reacquire up to 0.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication 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.