Natural Investments LLC Invests $391,000 in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Natural Investments LLC purchased a new position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 7,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $391,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MNST. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in Monster Beverage by 109.3% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 22,559,092 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,176,913,000 after acquiring an additional 11,779,162 shares in the last quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 250.9% during the fourth quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 3,468,660 shares of the company’s stock valued at $178,801,000 after buying an additional 2,480,291 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 6.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,742,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,760,341,000 after buying an additional 2,168,379 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $106,882,000. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the third quarter valued at approximately $73,600,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

In other Monster Beverage news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.65, for a total value of $526,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 74,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,944,748.60. This trade represents a 11.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total transaction of $5,057,080.08. Following the completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 7.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MNST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Argus lifted 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. 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. Finally, BNP Paribas reduced their price objective 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Monster Beverage presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.83.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

NASDAQ:MNST opened at $55.23 on Wednesday. Monster Beverage Co. has a one year low of $43.32 and a one year 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. The firm has a market cap of $53.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.40, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $50.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.63.

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

Monster Beverage Company 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.