UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Acquires 6,520 Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp lifted its stake in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 10.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 69,346 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,520 shares during the quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $3,645,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. lifted its position in Monster Beverage by 62.5% during the fourth quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Monster Beverage news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total value of $5,057,080.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 76,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,220,011.38. This represents a 54.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.27, for a total value of $552,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 72,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,994,528.71. This represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 208,316 shares of company stock worth $11,484,440 over the last three months. Insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

NASDAQ:MNST opened at $57.84 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $51.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $52.25. Monster Beverage Co. has a 12 month low of $43.32 and a 12 month high of $60.13. The firm has a market cap of $56.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 3.13, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last issued its quarterly 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). Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 23.31% and a net margin of 21.66%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. On average, analysts expect that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MNST has been the subject of several recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective 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. UBS Group upped their target price on Monster Beverage from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, BNP Paribas reduced 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. Two investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.