Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) Shares Purchased by Inspire Advisors LLC

Inspire Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 7.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,319 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 791 shares during the quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $595,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the 3rd quarter valued at about $354,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 41.0% during the 3rd quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 22,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,158,000 after buying an additional 6,454 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 49,077 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,561,000 after buying an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 15,802 shares of the company’s stock valued at $824,000 after buying an additional 1,874 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,864 shares of the company’s stock valued at $254,000 after buying an additional 552 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In other news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.65, for a total transaction of $526,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,924 shares in the company, valued at $3,944,748.60. The trade was a 11.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 76,201 shares in the company, valued at $4,220,011.38. This represents a 54.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. 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 note on Friday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $59.00 price objective on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Argus lifted their price target on Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, BNP Paribas cut their price target on Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.83.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

NASDAQ:MNST opened at $55.23 on Wednesday. Monster Beverage Co. has a 12 month low of $43.32 and a 12 month high of $61.22. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $50.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.63. The company has a current ratio of 3.13, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market cap of $53.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.71.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last issued its earnings results 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 for 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%. On average, analysts expect that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.