Zions Bancorporation N.A. Grows Stake in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its stake in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 18.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 76,520 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,652 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A.'s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $4,022,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MNST. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 109.3% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 22,559,092 shares of the company's stock worth $1,176,913,000 after purchasing an additional 11,779,162 shares in the last quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 250.9% during the fourth quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 3,468,660 shares of the company's stock worth $178,801,000 after buying an additional 2,480,291 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 6.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,742,390 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,760,341,000 after buying an additional 2,168,379 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter valued at about $106,882,000. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the third quarter worth about $73,600,000. 72.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Remove Ads

Monster Beverage Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of MNST traded down $0.72 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $57.86. 4,464,769 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,988,399. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a current ratio of 3.13. The firm has a market cap of $56.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.71. Monster Beverage Co. has a 52-week low of $43.32 and a 52-week high of $59.56. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $52.38.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 23.31%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.27, for a total transaction of $552,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 72,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,994,528.71. The trade was a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 76,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,220,011.38. This trade represents a 54.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 208,316 shares of company stock valued at $11,484,440 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 7.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on MNST shares. BNP Paribas cut their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group upped their target price on Monster Beverage from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Monster Beverage currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $55.83.

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.