7,200 Shares in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) Purchased by Pollock Investment Advisors LLC

Pollock Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 7,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $378,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Monster Beverage by 33.0% during the fourth quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 10,498 shares of the company’s stock worth $552,000 after purchasing an additional 2,607 shares during the last quarter. First National Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter valued at $200,000. Midwest Professional Planners LTD. raised its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 11.7% during the 4th quarter. Midwest Professional Planners LTD. now owns 9,952 shares of the company’s stock worth $523,000 after buying an additional 1,044 shares during the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 77.9% in the 4th quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,802 shares of the company’s stock worth $883,000 after buying an additional 7,360 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aviso Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Monster Beverage by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. now owns 14,958 shares of the company’s stock valued at $786,000 after acquiring an additional 1,045 shares in the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

Monster Beverage stock opened at $55.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a current ratio of 3.13. The company has a market cap of $53.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.31, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.71. Monster Beverage Co. has a 1 year low of $43.32 and a 1 year high of $61.21. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $50.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.76.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 23.31% and a net margin of 21.66%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In related news, insider Guy Carling sold 47,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.02, for a total transaction of $2,585,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 21,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,210,054.86. This represents a 68.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 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. Insiders have sold a total of 186,316 shares of company stock worth $10,277,740 in the last three months. 7.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MNST has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group raised their price target on Monster Beverage from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, BNP Paribas decreased their price objective on 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.