Townsquare Capital LLC Boosts Stake in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 25.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 101,310 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 20,686 shares during the quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC's holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $5,325,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co grew its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 10.4% in the third quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 7,071 shares of the company's stock valued at $369,000 after purchasing an additional 664 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Monster Beverage during the 3rd quarter valued at about $307,000. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 22.9% in the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 6,064 shares of the company's stock worth $316,000 after buying an additional 1,131 shares in the last quarter. American Trust purchased a new position in Monster Beverage during the third quarter valued at approximately $687,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Monster Beverage by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,363,935 shares of the company's stock worth $71,156,000 after acquiring an additional 141,495 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.36% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MNST shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Citigroup raised their price target on Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target 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 analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $57.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

In related news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total transaction of $5,057,080.08. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 76,201 shares in the company, valued at $4,220,011.38. The trade was a 54.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the company'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 value of $552,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 72,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,994,528.71. The trade was a 12.15 % 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. 7.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 0.8 %

Monster Beverage stock traded up $0.46 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $58.41. The company had a trading volume of 7,138,324 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,099,589. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 3.13 and a quick ratio of 2.51. Monster Beverage Co. has a 12-month low of $43.32 and a 12-month high of $60.34. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $55.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.14. The firm has a market cap of $56.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.64.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.80 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 23.31% and a net margin of 21.66%. Equities analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current 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.