Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Buys 1,763 Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 67,480 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,763 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $3,547,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 62.5% in the fourth quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 528 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MNST opened at $55.09 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $50.80 and a 200-day moving average of $51.76. Monster Beverage Co. has a twelve month low of $43.32 and a twelve month high of $61.21. 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 capitalization of $53.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.71.

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 the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MNST. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $59.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.83.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In other Monster Beverage news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of Monster Beverage 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 76,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,220,011.38. The trade was a 54.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark J. Hall sold 48,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 296,846 shares in the company, valued at $16,293,876.94. This represents a 13.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 186,316 shares of company stock valued at $10,277,740. 7.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.