Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) Stock Holdings Increased by Smartleaf Asset Management LLC

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 47.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 8,525 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,734 shares during the quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $448,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Monster Beverage Price Performance

NASDAQ:MNST opened at $54.82 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $53.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.14, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a 50-day moving average of $50.39 and a 200-day moving average of $51.33. Monster Beverage Co. has a 52 week low of $43.32 and a 52 week high of $61.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a current ratio of 3.13.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Monster Beverage news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the 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 transaction, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 7.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on MNST. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Monster Beverage from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $59.00 price objective on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.47.

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.