Russell Investments Group Ltd. Buys 372,880 Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 49.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,119,492 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 372,880 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.12% of Monster Beverage worth $58,840,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at about $442,642,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 659.1% in 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 buying an additional 4,231,063 shares during the period. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. boosted its stake in Monster Beverage by 250.9% in the fourth quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 3,468,660 shares of the company's stock valued at $178,801,000 after acquiring an additional 2,480,291 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth $106,882,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,112,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $897,012,000 after acquiring an additional 1,383,914 shares during the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Monster Beverage Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of MNST stock traded up $0.38 during trading on Friday, reaching $58.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,655,756 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,117,653. The company has a market cap of $56.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.64. Monster Beverage Co. has a one year low of $43.32 and a one year high of $60.34. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $54.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $52.92. The company has a quick ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 3.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

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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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 23.31% and a net margin of 21.66%. Analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

In related news, insider Guy Carling sold 47,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.02, for a total value of $2,585,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 21,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,210,054.86. This trade represents a 68.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of Monster Beverage 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 owns 76,201 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,220,011.38. The trade was a 54.51 % decrease in their position. 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 ninety days. 7.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on MNST. BNP Paribas decreased their price objective on Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Citigroup increased 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $56.11.

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.