Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Raises Stake in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 67,480 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,763 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $3,547,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 62.5% in the 4th 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 purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. 72.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MNST has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $59.00 price objective on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Citigroup boosted 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. Two investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Monster Beverage currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.83.

Monster Beverage Stock Up 1.4 %

MNST stock opened at $55.09 on Friday. 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $50.80 and its 200 day moving average is $51.76. The stock has a market cap of $53.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.71. Monster Beverage Co. has a 1-year low of $43.32 and a 1-year high of $61.21.

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 the consensus estimate 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Monster Beverage news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 48,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.89, for a total value of $2,634,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 296,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,293,876.94. This represents a 13.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total value of $5,057,080.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 76,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,220,011.38. This represents a 54.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 186,316 shares of company stock valued at $10,277,740 over the last quarter. 7.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.