Vicus Capital Takes $256,000 Position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Vicus Capital bought a new position in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 4,325 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $256,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its stake in Monster Beverage by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 3,659 shares of the company’s stock worth $211,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC lifted its stake in Monster Beverage by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 7,761 shares of the company’s stock worth $447,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its stake in Monster Beverage by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 5,908 shares of the company’s stock worth $340,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC lifted its stake in Monster Beverage by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 5,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $300,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fulton Bank N.A. lifted its stake in Monster Beverage by 1.2% during the first quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 20,892 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,238,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

Shares of MNST stock opened at $49.95 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $52.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.29. Monster Beverage Co. has a 1-year low of $47.13 and a 1-year high of $61.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.03 billion, a PE ratio of 31.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.76.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 22.83%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.38 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on MNST. HSBC decreased their target price on Monster Beverage from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Monster Beverage from $66.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Roth Mkm cut their price target on Monster Beverage from $59.00 to $56.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Monster Beverage from $65.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Monster Beverage from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.10.

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.