Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Has $10.06 Million Holdings in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 9.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 191,310 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,689 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $10,055,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MNST. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its position in Monster Beverage by 62.5% during the 4th quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 528 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MNST shares. BNP Paribas lowered their target price on Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.83.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 0.0 %

NASDAQ:MNST opened at $56.82 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.96. Monster Beverage Co. has a 12 month low of $43.32 and a 12 month high of $60.82. 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 company has a current ratio of 3.13, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Analysts expect that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Monster Beverage news, 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 76,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,220,011.38. The trade was a 54.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark J. Hall sold 48,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.89, for a total transaction of $2,634,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 296,846 shares in the company, valued at $16,293,876.94. This trade represents a 13.92 % 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 quarter. 7.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.