Mizuho Securities USA LLC Purchases 20,631 Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its position in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 45.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 66,364 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,631 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $3,488,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MNST. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management bought a new stake in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $59.00 price objective on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Two 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, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.83.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In related news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total value of $5,057,080.08. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 76,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,220,011.38. This trade represents a 54.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Mark J. Hall sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.50, for a total value of $654,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 296,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,178,107. This trade represents a 3.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 208,316 shares of company stock valued at $11,484,440. 7.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Monster Beverage Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of MNST opened at $57.31 on Monday. Monster Beverage Co. has a 52 week low of $43.32 and a 52 week high of $60.13. The firm has a market cap of $55.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $51.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.11. 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 net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 23.31%. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current year.

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.