Hartford Funds Management Co LLC Has $381,000 Position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Hartford Funds Management Co LLC raised its position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 7.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,258 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 531 shares during the period. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $381,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. 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 acquiring an additional 11,779,162 shares in the last quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 2,480,291 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 6.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,742,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,760,341,000 after acquiring an additional 2,168,379 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter worth $106,882,000. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the third quarter worth $73,600,000. Institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

MNST stock opened at $55.69 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 3.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Monster Beverage Co. has a 12 month low of $43.32 and a 12 month high of $61.22. The firm has a market cap of $54.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.74. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $50.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.39.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last released 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 the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 23.31%. On average, analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In related news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.65, for a total transaction of $526,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,944,748.60. The trade was a 11.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 7.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MNST has been the subject of several research reports. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. 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. Finally, Argus increased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.83.

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.