TD Asset Management Inc Sells 748,782 Shares of Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST

TD Asset Management Inc lessened its stake in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) by 21.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,676,821 shares of the company’s stock after selling 748,782 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $205,232,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,980,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,212,080,000 after acquiring an additional 497,108 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,719,091 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,538,872,000 after acquiring an additional 2,789,273 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,625,097 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,509,369,000 after acquiring an additional 330,766 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,675,603 shares of the company’s stock valued at $785,885,000 after acquiring an additional 692,192 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter valued at $691,104,000. Institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

MNST opened at $89.04 on Thursday. Monster Beverage Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $58.09 and a fifty-two week high of $89.86. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $79.63 and its 200 day moving average is $78.41. The stock has a market cap of $87.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 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, 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 company 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 company earned $0.47 EPS. Monster Beverage’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Monster Beverage declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Friday, May 15th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 0.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In related news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 54,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.81, for a total transaction of $4,633,740.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 299,246 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,678,299.26. The trade was a 15.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 88,700 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction on 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 owned 81,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,028,347.48. This trade represents a 52.03% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 159,700 shares of company stock worth $13,730,462. 8.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $88.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised shares of Monster Beverage from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $76.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of 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, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.05.

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.