Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Purchases 79,120 Shares of Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,938,393 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 79,120 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.20% of Monster Beverage worth $130,473,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. First Horizon Corp bought a new position in Monster Beverage in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. MGO One Seven LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 35.3% in the third quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 9,584 shares of the company’s stock worth $645,000 after acquiring an additional 2,501 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 6.7% in the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 5,835 shares of the company’s stock valued at $393,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 15.6% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 615,897 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,456,000 after purchasing an additional 83,246 shares during the period. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 16.4% during the 3rd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 10,425 shares of the company’s stock worth $702,000 after purchasing an additional 1,466 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of Monster Beverage stock opened at $78.43 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.63 billion, a PE ratio of 44.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.46. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 12 month low of $45.70 and a 12 month high of $78.81. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $74.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.68.

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

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In related news, insider Guy Carling sold 38,438 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.33, for a total value of $2,741,782.54. Following the transaction, the insider owned 21,993 shares in the company, valued at $1,568,760.69. This trade represents a 63.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Rodney C. Sacks sold 206,543 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total value of $15,197,433.94. 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 valued at $20,138,516. Insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $81.00 target price (up previously from $75.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Monday, December 1st. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Monster Beverage from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price objective on Monster Beverage and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Roth Capital restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $75.05.

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.