Motley Fool Asset Management LLC Buys 1,312 Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 30,933 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,312 shares during the period. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $1,782,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MNST. Delta Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 0.9% in the third quarter. Delta Financial Advisors LLC now owns 19,168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,015,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 3,659 shares of the company’s stock worth $211,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 34.6% during the third quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 774 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 7,761 shares of the company’s stock worth $447,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the period. Finally, Mainsail Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 1.2% during the third quarter. Mainsail Financial Group LLC now owns 18,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $955,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the period. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In related news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 659,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.55, for a total value of $38,584,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 777,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,542,532. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 9.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

NASDAQ MNST traded up $0.22 on Friday, hitting $53.37. 4,204,562 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,386,807. Monster Beverage Co. has a 52-week low of $47.13 and a 52-week high of $61.22. The company has a market capitalization of $55.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.72. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $56.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.60.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 22.84% and a return on equity of 20.95%. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.28 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on MNST shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Monster Beverage from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $66.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group raised their price target on Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Monster Beverage from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Truist Financial cut Monster Beverage from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $65.00 to $46.00 in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Monster Beverage presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.79.

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