Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Raises Stake in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 118,231 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,723 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $6,811,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in Monster Beverage by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 10,286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $822,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its position in Monster Beverage by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 2,537 shares of the company’s stock valued at $203,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. Delta Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Monster Beverage by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Delta Financial Advisors LLC now owns 19,168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,015,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its holdings in Monster Beverage by 5.7% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Monster Beverage by 34.6% in 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 last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, UBS Group lifted 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.11.

Insider Buying and Selling 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.

Monster Beverage Stock Down 1.5 %

Monster Beverage stock opened at $53.46 on Friday. Monster Beverage Co. has a 52-week low of $47.13 and a 52-week high of $61.22. The company has a market cap of $55.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.49, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $57.24 and its 200 day moving average is $55.49.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.76 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.28 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.