Keel Point LLC Grows Stake in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Keel Point LLC raised its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 8.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,147 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the period. Keel Point LLC’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $239,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MNST. State Street Corp increased its position in Monster Beverage by 98.4% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 34,001,871 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,836,434,000 after buying an additional 16,863,544 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 103.0% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,361,510 shares of the company’s stock worth $773,729,000 after purchasing an additional 7,287,123 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth approximately $363,374,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Monster Beverage by 20.3% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 19,515,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,033,323,000 after purchasing an additional 3,296,466 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 32.8% in the second quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 9,747,630 shares of the company’s stock worth $559,905,000 after buying an additional 2,407,774 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MNST. HSBC reduced their price target on Monster Beverage from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Monster Beverage from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.11.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Shares of MNST stock opened at $54.69 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $56.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $57.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.51. Monster Beverage Co. has a one year low of $47.13 and a one year high of $61.22.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 20.95% and a net margin of 22.84%. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.76 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.28 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Monster Beverage news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 659,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.55, for a total transaction of $38,584,450.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 777,840 shares in the company, valued at $45,542,532. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 9.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.