Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) Shares Purchased by Saturna Capital Corp

Saturna Capital Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 33,313 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 513 shares during the period. Saturna Capital Corp’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $1,751,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 62.5% during the fourth quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its position in Monster Beverage by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 13,578 shares of the company’s stock worth $714,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its stake in Monster Beverage by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 6,991 shares of the company’s stock valued at $367,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 1.3% in the third quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC now owns 17,821 shares of the company’s stock worth $930,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sapient Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 46,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,422,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the period. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

NASDAQ MNST opened at $55.23 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 3.13, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Monster Beverage Co. has a twelve month low of $43.32 and a twelve month high of $61.22. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $50.67 and a 200 day moving average of $51.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.40, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.71.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced its earnings results 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). Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 23.31% and a net margin of 21.66%. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MNST. BNP Paribas reduced their target price on Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Argus raised their price objective on Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $59.00 price objective on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

In other Monster Beverage news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.65, for a total transaction of $526,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 74,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,944,748.60. This represents a 11.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of Monster Beverage 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 in the company, valued at $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. Insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

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.