Townsquare Capital LLC Buys 20,686 Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 25.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 101,310 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,686 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $5,325,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MNST. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its position in Monster Beverage by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 36,507 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,922,000 after acquiring an additional 4,201 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its position in Monster Beverage by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 322,977 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,976,000 after buying an additional 1,390 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in Monster Beverage by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 14,544 shares of the company’s stock valued at $764,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the period. F M Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter valued at $218,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 25,270 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,328,000 after purchasing an additional 556 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Monster Beverage stock opened at $58.15 on Monday. Monster Beverage Co. has a fifty-two week low of $43.32 and a fifty-two week high of $60.34. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $54.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.93. The stock has a market cap of $56.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.64. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 23.31% and a net margin of 21.66%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on MNST. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, BNP Paribas dropped their price objective on 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.11.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In other Monster Beverage news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 76,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,220,011.38. The trade was a 54.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark J. Hall sold 48,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.89, for a total transaction of $2,634,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 296,846 shares in the company, valued at $16,293,876.94. This represents a 13.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 208,316 shares of company stock worth $11,484,440. Company insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

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.