DnB Asset Management AS Boosts Stock Position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

DnB Asset Management AS grew its position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 8.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 168,007 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,416 shares during the quarter. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $8,830,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Mark J. Hall sold 48,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.89, for a total transaction of $2,634,720.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 296,846 shares in the company, valued at $16,293,876.94. The trade was a 13.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 208,316 shares of company stock worth $11,484,440. 7.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Monster Beverage Trading Down 1.2 %

MNST stock opened at $57.86 on Friday. Monster Beverage Co. has a 52-week low of $43.32 and a 52-week high of $59.56. The company has a quick ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 3.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market cap of $56.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.09, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.71. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $52.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.39.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 23.31%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on MNST. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $59.00 price target on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, BNP Paribas cut their price objective on Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.83.

Monster Beverage 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.