Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) Position Increased by Capital International Sarl

Capital International Sarl increased its stake in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 15.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 281,653 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 38,127 shares during the quarter. Capital International Sarl’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $14,804,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter worth about $1,214,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Monster Beverage by 5.3% in 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. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,090,000. Diversified Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $733,000. Finally, Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $423,000. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.50, for a total value of $654,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 296,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,178,107. This trade represents a 3.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total transaction of $5,057,080.08. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 76,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,220,011.38. This trade represents a 54.51 % 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 company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MNST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. BNP Paribas decreased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Two research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $57.33.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

MNST opened at $58.41 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 3.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market cap of $56.84 billion, a PE ratio of 37.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $55.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $53.09. Monster Beverage Co. has a fifty-two week low of $43.32 and a fifty-two week high of $60.34.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced 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 company had revenue of $1.81 billion for 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Monster Beverage

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.