Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $61.06 Million Stake in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 10.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,222,440 shares of the company's stock after selling 135,897 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.12% of Monster Beverage worth $61,061,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MNST. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in Monster Beverage by 59.9% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 132,086 shares of the company's stock worth $7,609,000 after buying an additional 49,495 shares during the last quarter. Alaethes Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,528,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter valued at $517,035,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Monster Beverage by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,904,636 shares of the company's stock worth $224,946,000 after buying an additional 50,454 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sapient Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,072,000. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In other Monster Beverage news, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 15,077 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.85, for a total transaction of $781,742.45. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 68,167 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,534,458.95. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 15,077 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.85, for a total transaction of $781,742.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 68,167 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,534,458.95. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Mark J. Hall sold 250,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.22, for a total value of $13,055,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 532,754 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,820,413.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 307,221 shares of company stock worth $16,070,374. Insiders own 7.80% of the company's stock.

Monster Beverage Stock Up 0.3 %

MNST stock traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $47.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,258,986 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,271,243. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.64, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.76. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.98. Monster Beverage Co. has a 52-week low of $43.32 and a 52-week high of $61.22.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.01 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 22.83%. The company's revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.39 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on MNST. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $48.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $63.00 to $57.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Monster Beverage from $56.00 to $50.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $51.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $59.00 to $46.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given 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 $55.85.

About Monster Beverage

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: Monster Energy Drinks, Strategic Brands, Alcohol Brands, and Other.

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