Ninety One North America Inc. Boosts Holdings in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Ninety One North America Inc. raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 26.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 135,165 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 28,548 shares during the period. Ninety One North America Inc.’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $7,787,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Freedom Wealth Alliance LLC purchased a new position in Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Monster Beverage during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new position in Monster Beverage during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 276.1% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 504 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In other news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 659,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 777,840 shares in the company, valued at $45,542,532. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 9.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on MNST shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.11.

Monster Beverage Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ MNST traded down $0.89 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $53.36. The company had a trading volume of 1,693,440 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,257,099. The business’s 50-day moving average is $57.30 and its 200-day moving average is $55.50. The stock has a market cap of $55.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.72. Monster Beverage Co. has a 52 week low of $47.13 and a 52 week high of $61.22.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.76 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 22.84% and a return on equity of 20.95%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.28 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Monster Beverage Company 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.