Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) Shares Purchased by Candriam S.C.A.

Candriam S.C.A. raised its stake in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 27.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 46,135 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,919 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $2,425,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its position 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 worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MNST shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. BNP Paribas decreased their target price 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. Argus upped their target price 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. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.83.

Monster Beverage Trading Down 1.1 %

Monster Beverage stock opened at $55.07 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $50.55 and its 200-day moving average is $51.51. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $43.32 and a 1 year high of $61.22. The company has a market cap of $53.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.30, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.71.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 76,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,220,011.38. This trade represents a 54.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $3,944,748.60. This trade represents a 11.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate 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.