Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys 89,049 Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 7.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,218,312 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 89,049 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.13% of Monster Beverage worth $63,827,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MNST. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,214,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Monster Beverage by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 154,125 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,101,000 after buying an additional 7,780 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in 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. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at $7,090,000. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the 3rd quarter worth about $630,000. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

In other news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.27, for a total value of $552,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 72,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,994,528.71. This represents a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Guy Carling sold 47,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.02, for a total value of $2,585,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 21,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,210,054.86. This represents a 68.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 208,316 shares of company stock valued at $11,484,440. 7.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. BNP Paribas lowered their price objective on Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $59.00 price target on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.83.

Monster Beverage Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of MNST opened at $57.86 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $52.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.31 billion, a PE ratio of 37.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.71. Monster Beverage Co. has a 12-month low of $43.32 and a 12-month high of $59.56. The company has a quick ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 3.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last released its 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). 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current 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.