AIA Group Ltd Boosts Holdings in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

AIA Group Ltd raised its stake in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 31.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 75,235 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,911 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $3,954,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,214,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 154,125 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,101,000 after acquiring an additional 7,780 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 251,570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,124,000 after acquiring an additional 15,611 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at $7,090,000. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage during the 3rd quarter worth $630,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Monster Beverage from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, BNP Paribas dropped their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.83.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Shares of MNST stock opened at $57.86 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $52.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.41. 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 stock has a market cap of $56.31 billion, a PE ratio of 37.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.71. Monster Beverage Co. has a 1 year low of $43.32 and a 1 year high of $59.56.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 EPS 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 business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In other Monster Beverage news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total transaction of $5,057,080.08. Following the transaction, the insider now 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.27, for a total value of $552,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 72,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,994,528.71. The trade was a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 208,316 shares of company stock worth $11,484,440 over the last ninety days. 7.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.