Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Buys 15,346 Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 32.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 62,432 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,346 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $3,281,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MNST. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Monster Beverage by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,864 shares of the company’s stock valued at $254,000 after purchasing an additional 552 shares during the period. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc increased its holdings in Monster Beverage by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 5,318 shares of the company’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Monster Beverage by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 197,555 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,307,000 after purchasing an additional 4,651 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A. grew its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 64,868 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,384,000 after acquiring an additional 6,266 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 273,708 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,279,000 after acquiring an additional 3,525 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

MNST stock opened at $54.34 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.88 billion, a PE ratio of 34.83, 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 $61.21. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $50.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.67.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last released 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 business 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, research analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on MNST. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. BNP Paribas reduced their target price on Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $59.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.83.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 76,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,220,011.38. This represents a 54.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Mark J. Hall sold 48,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.89, for a total value of $2,634,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 296,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,293,876.94. This trade represents a 13.92 % 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.

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.