Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Purchases 400,278 Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 13.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,303,477 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 400,278 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 0.34% of Monster Beverage worth $173,632,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MNST. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. grew its stake in Monster Beverage by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 3,503,619 shares of the company's stock valued at $184,150,000 after acquiring an additional 140,488 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP increased its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 62.3% during the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 8,143 shares of the company's stock valued at $428,000 after purchasing an additional 3,127 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Ltd. CA lifted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Ltd. CA now owns 218,335 shares of the company's stock worth $11,476,000 after buying an additional 13,956 shares in the last quarter. Capital Group Investment Management PTE. LTD. boosted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital Group Investment Management PTE. LTD. now owns 43,882 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,306,000 after acquiring an additional 2,891 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 35.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,020,639 shares of the company's stock valued at $211,325,000 after purchasing an additional 1,059,803 shares during the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In other news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.50, for a total value of $654,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 296,846 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,178,107. This represents a 3.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Guy Carling sold 47,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.02, for a total transaction of $2,585,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,993 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,210,054.86. This trade represents a 68.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 208,316 shares of company stock worth $11,484,440. Company insiders own 7.80% of the company's stock.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of Monster Beverage stock traded up $0.08 on Friday, reaching $58.67. The company had a trading volume of 3,898,245 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,057,922. The firm has a market cap of $57.10 billion, a PE ratio of 37.61, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.64. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $56.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.46. Monster Beverage Co. has a 52-week low of $43.32 and a 52-week high of $60.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a current ratio of 3.13.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last posted 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 company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.80 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MNST. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased 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. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $59.00 price objective on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Monster Beverage from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $58.39.

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.