Sage Mountain Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Sage Mountain Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 33.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,601 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,666 shares during the quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $347,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,214,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 154,125 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,101,000 after buying an additional 7,780 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted 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 buying an additional 15,611 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 151,364 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,897,000 after buying an additional 9,496 shares during the period. Finally, Miracle Mile Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at about $7,090,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Friday, February 28th. Citigroup upped their price target on Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, BNP Paribas reduced their price target on Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.83.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 48,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.89, for a total value of $2,634,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 296,846 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,293,876.94. This represents a 13.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 11.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 149,316 shares of company stock worth $8,218,300 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

MNST stock opened at $54.40 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 3.13 and a quick ratio of 2.51. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $50.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $51.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.94 billion, a PE ratio of 34.87, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 $61.22.

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). The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 23.31%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.