National Bank of Canada FI Boosts Stock Position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 564,737 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 20,815 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned about 0.06% of Monster Beverage worth $29,686,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In other news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.27, for a total transaction of $552,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 72,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,994,528.71. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total value of $5,057,080.08. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 76,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,220,011.38. This represents a 54.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 208,316 shares of company stock valued at $11,484,440 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Two equities 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.11.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MNST opened at $59.36 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $52.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.58. 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 stock has a market cap of $57.77 billion, a PE ratio of 38.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.71. Monster Beverage Co. has a fifty-two week low of $43.32 and a fifty-two week high of $59.42.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.02). Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 23.31% and a net margin of 21.66%. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. Analysts expect that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Monster Beverage 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.