Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Buys 16,689 Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 9.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 191,310 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,689 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $10,055,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 62.5% in 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. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new position in Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. 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 Monster Beverage stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total transaction of $5,057,080.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 76,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,220,011.38. This trade represents a 54.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Mark J. Hall sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.50, for a total transaction of $654,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 296,846 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,178,107. This trade represents a 3.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 208,316 shares of company stock worth $11,484,440 over the last ninety days. 7.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MNST shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $59.00 price target on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. BNP Paribas decreased their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Two 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, Monster Beverage has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.83.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

MNST stock opened at $56.82 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $51.10 and a 200-day moving average of $51.96. The company has a current ratio of 3.13, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.71. Monster Beverage Co. has a 12 month low of $43.32 and a 12 month high of $60.82.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 23.31%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.