Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST Stock: Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Increases Stake

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) by 90.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,418,660 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,627,700 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $142,285,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Monster Beverage in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,770,004,000. Ninety One UK Ltd boosted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 89.1% in the third quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 13,105,329 shares of the company’s stock valued at $545,444,000 after acquiring an additional 6,175,047 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 0.8% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 12,532,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $908,102,000 after acquiring an additional 99,168 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 23.7% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 7,637,514 shares of the company’s stock worth $553,414,000 after acquiring an additional 1,461,167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Monster Beverage by 27.8% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,465,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $717,629,000 after acquiring an additional 1,624,416 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on MNST shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $108.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $52.00 to $52.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $52.00 price objective on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $106.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.86.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:MNST opened at $48.02 on Tuesday. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 1-year low of $32.94 and a 1-year high of $50.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.07 billion, a PE ratio of 44.46, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.49. The business’s 50 day moving average is $44.76 and its 200-day moving average is $43.14.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 26.02% and a net margin of 23.08%. Monster Beverage’s quarterly revenue was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.26 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.16 EPS for the current year.

Monster Beverage Company Profile

Monster Beverage Corporation is a global beverage company focused primarily on the development, marketing, sale and distribution of energy drinks. Its portfolio includes the flagship Monster Energy brand, along with products marketed under brands such as NOS, Full Throttle, Reign, Burn and Mother. The company offers a range of energy drinks in different flavors and formulations, including products positioned for performance, fitness and everyday consumption.

The company traces its origins to Hansen Natural Corporation, which was founded in 1935 and changed its name to Monster Beverage Corporation in 2012 as the Monster Energy brand became increasingly central to its business.