Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) Shares Purchased by Norden Group LLC

Norden Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 16.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,923 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 711 shares during the quarter. Norden Group LLC’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $259,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MNST. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,214,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 154,125 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,101,000 after buying an additional 7,780 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 6.6% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 251,570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,124,000 after buying an additional 15,611 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 6.7% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 151,364 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,897,000 after buying an additional 9,496 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Miracle Mile Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,090,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of MNST opened at $54.82 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 3.13 and a quick ratio of 2.51. Monster Beverage Co. has a 12 month low of $43.32 and a 12 month high of $61.22. The stock has a market cap of $53.31 billion, a PE ratio of 35.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.74. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $50.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.33.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MNST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. BNP Paribas lowered their price target on Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Monster Beverage presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.47.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In related news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.65, for a total transaction of $526,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,944,748.60. This trade represents a 11.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

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.