Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) Shares Bought by LPL Financial LLC

LPL Financial LLC grew its position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 14.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 924,246 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 117,162 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $48,346,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,214,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 154,125 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,101,000 after acquiring an additional 7,780 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 251,570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,124,000 after acquiring an additional 15,611 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter worth $7,090,000. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the third quarter worth $630,000. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In other news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.27, for a total transaction of $552,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 72,273 shares in the company, valued at $3,994,528.71. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction dated 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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 208,316 shares of company stock worth $11,484,440. 7.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

NASDAQ:MNST opened at $58.58 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $57.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a quick ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 3.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Monster Beverage Co. has a 52 week low of $43.32 and a 52 week high of $60.09. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $52.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.33.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $59.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, BNP Paribas lowered their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.83.

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.