Forsta AP Fonden Has $7.61 Million Stake in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Forsta AP Fonden raised its position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 144,700 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,600 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $7,605,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MNST. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Monster Beverage by 6.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,742,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,760,341,000 after purchasing an additional 2,168,379 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its stake in Monster Beverage by 4.7% in the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 27,142,970 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,416,048,000 after buying an additional 1,229,789 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 109.3% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 22,559,092 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,176,913,000 after buying an additional 11,779,162 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,728,086 shares of the company’s stock worth $817,490,000 after acquiring an additional 473,418 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 18.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,898,127 shares of the company’s stock worth $203,365,000 after acquiring an additional 596,078 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of Monster Beverage stock opened at $49.36 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $51.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.20. The company has a market capitalization of $48.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.64, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 3.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Monster Beverage Co. has a 12-month low of $43.32 and a 12-month high of $61.22.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Monster Beverage news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,924 shares in the company, valued at $3,944,748.60. This represents a 11.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 7.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on MNST. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $59.00 price objective on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Argus upped their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, BNP Paribas decreased their target price on Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.42.

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.