Vinva Investment Management Ltd Acquires 17,886 Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Vinva Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 41.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 61,136 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 17,886 shares during the quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $3,211,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,214,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Monster Beverage by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 154,125 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,101,000 after purchasing an additional 7,780 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Monster Beverage by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 251,570 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,124,000 after purchasing an additional 15,611 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in Monster Beverage by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 151,364 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,897,000 after purchasing an additional 9,496 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Miracle Mile Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth about $7,090,000. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In other news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 48,000 shares of the company’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 sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 72,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,994,528.71. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 208,316 shares of company stock worth $11,484,440 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 0.0 %

NASDAQ MNST opened at $56.82 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.42, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.71. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $51.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $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 Co. has a 52 week low of $43.32 and a 52 week high of $60.82.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 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 the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 23.31%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on MNST. BNP Paribas dropped their price objective on Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price 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 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.83.

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.