Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) Stake Increased by Independent Advisor Alliance

Independent Advisor Alliance increased its stake in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 63.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,412 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,480 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $337,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MNST. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 62.5% in the fourth quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 528 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

MNST stock opened at $56.80 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $55.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.41, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.92. Monster Beverage Co. has a fifty-two week low of $43.32 and a fifty-two week high of $61.03. The company has a quick ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 3.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 23.31% and a net margin of 21.66%. Sell-side analysts predict that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Monster Beverage news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total value of $5,057,080.08. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 76,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,220,011.38. The trade was a 54.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark J. Hall sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.50, for a total transaction of $654,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 296,846 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,178,107. This trade represents a 3.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 208,316 shares of company stock worth $11,484,440. 7.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on MNST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. BNP Paribas decreased their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $59.00 price objective on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.83.

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.