Capital International Investors Increases Stock Position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Capital International Investors increased its stake in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 35.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,020,639 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,059,803 shares during the quarter. Capital International Investors owned about 0.41% of Monster Beverage worth $211,325,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MNST. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter valued at about $442,642,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in Monster Beverage by 659.1% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 4,872,972 shares of the company's stock valued at $251,445,000 after acquiring an additional 4,231,063 shares in the last quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. increased its holdings in Monster Beverage by 250.9% during the 4th quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 3,468,660 shares of the company's stock worth $178,801,000 after acquiring an additional 2,480,291 shares during the period. Champlain Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter worth approximately $121,575,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at $106,882,000. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Monster Beverage Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Monster Beverage stock traded down $0.13 on Wednesday, hitting $59.15. The stock had a trading volume of 4,994,186 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,068,440. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $55.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $53.26. Monster Beverage Co. has a one year low of $43.32 and a one year high of $60.34. 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 $57.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.92, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.64.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 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 firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In related news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 72,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,994,528.71. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 76,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,220,011.38. The trade was a 54.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 208,316 shares of company stock worth $11,484,440. 7.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MNST. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $57.89.

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.