Horizon Investments LLC Has $1.16 Million Stock Holdings in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Horizon Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,031 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 735 shares during the quarter. Horizon Investments LLC’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $1,158,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MNST. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter valued at $1,214,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew 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 acquiring an additional 7,780 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 6.6% in the third 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 last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in Monster Beverage by 6.7% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 151,364 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,897,000 after acquiring an additional 9,496 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Miracle Mile Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,090,000. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley upped 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. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Two equities research 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 MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.83.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of Monster Beverage stock opened at $56.82 on Thursday. Monster Beverage Co. has a 52-week low of $43.32 and a 52-week high of $60.82. The stock has a market cap of $55.29 billion, a PE ratio of 36.42, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.71. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $51.10 and a 200-day moving average of $51.96. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data 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). Monster Beverage had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 23.31%. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Guy Carling sold 47,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.02, for a total value of $2,585,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 21,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,210,054.86. The trade was a 68.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 76,201 shares in the company, valued at $4,220,011.38. The trade was a 54.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 208,316 shares of company stock valued at $11,484,440 over the last 90 days. 7.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.