Appleton Partners Inc. MA Purchases 4,770 Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Appleton Partners Inc. MA increased its position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 4.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 120,100 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,770 shares during the period. Appleton Partners Inc. MA’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $7,120,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in Monster Beverage by 59.9% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 132,086 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,609,000 after acquiring an additional 49,495 shares during the period. Alaethes Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,528,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,340,000. Defender Capital LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 30.2% in the 4th quarter. Defender Capital LLC. now owns 371,077 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,378,000 after purchasing an additional 86,050 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter worth approximately $517,035,000. Institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of Monster Beverage stock traded down $0.35 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $48.78. 1,795,433 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,472,575. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $53.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.63. Monster Beverage Co. has a 52-week low of $47.13 and a 52-week high of $61.22. The firm has a market cap of $50.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.76.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.01). Monster Beverage had a net margin of 22.83% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.38 EPS. Monster Beverage’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.77 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

In other news, CEO Hilton H. Schlosberg sold 42,144 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.00, for a total transaction of $2,233,632.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,875,558 shares in the company, valued at $99,404,574. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 250,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.22, for a total transaction of $13,055,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 532,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,820,413.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Hilton H. Schlosberg sold 42,144 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.00, for a total value of $2,233,632.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,875,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $99,404,574. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 307,221 shares of company stock worth $16,070,374 over the last quarter. Insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MNST has been the topic of several recent research reports. HSBC lowered their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $63.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, Truist Financial lowered shares of Monster Beverage from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $65.00 to $46.00 in a report on Thursday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.79.

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.