Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) Shares Purchased by AIA Group Ltd

AIA Group Ltd raised its position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 31.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 75,235 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 17,911 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd's holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $3,954,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. grew 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 during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its position in Monster Beverage by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 13,578 shares of the company's stock valued at $714,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its stake in Monster Beverage by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 6,991 shares of the company's stock valued at $367,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Monster Beverage by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,996 shares of the company's stock worth $263,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. Finally, Sapient Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 46,082 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,422,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 76,201 shares in the company, valued at $4,220,011.38. This trade represents a 54.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $654,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 296,846 shares in the company, valued at $16,178,107. The trade was a 3.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 208,316 shares of company stock valued at $11,484,440. Insiders own 7.80% of the company's stock.

Monster Beverage Trading Down 4.3 %

Shares of Monster Beverage stock traded down $2.57 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $57.08. 10,386,288 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,010,487. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.59, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $43.32 and a 52-week high of $60.34. The company has a fifty day moving average of $53.17 and a 200-day moving average of $52.67.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $1.81 billion during 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MNST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $59.00 price objective on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. 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. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $56.11.

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.