MetLife Investment Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 224,534 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,530 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $12,897,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in Monster Beverage by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 10,286 shares of the company’s stock worth $822,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL grew its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 7.5% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 2,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $203,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 0.4% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 52,937 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,041,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Scissortail Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $596,970,000. Finally, Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in Monster Beverage by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 4,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $253,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MNST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Monday, August 7th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Monster Beverage from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com began coverage on Monster Beverage in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $63.00 to $62.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.77.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Monster Beverage stock opened at $54.80 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.83. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $52.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.08. Monster Beverage Co. has a 1 year low of $47.13 and a 1 year high of $60.47.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 2nd. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.03. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 22.62% and a return on equity of 20.50%. The business had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.30 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.56 EPS for the current year.

Monster Beverage declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, November 8th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 0.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Monster Beverage Profile

Monster Beverage Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in development, marketing, sale, and distribution of energy drink beverages and concentrates in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Finished Product, Concentrate, and Other. It offers carbonated non-carbonated energy drinks, ready-to-drink iced teas and juice drinks, lemonades, juice cocktails, single-serve juices and fruit beverages, ready-to-drink dairy and coffee drinks, energy drinks, sports drinks and single-serve still waters, and sodas that are considered natural, sparkling juices, and flavored sparkling beverages.