Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) Shares Bought by Saturna Capital Corp

Saturna Capital Corp grew its holdings in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 33,313 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 513 shares during the quarter. Saturna Capital Corp’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $1,751,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Monster Beverage during the third quarter worth $354,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 41.0% during the 3rd quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 22,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,158,000 after acquiring an additional 6,454 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 49,077 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,561,000 after acquiring an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 13.5% in the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 15,802 shares of the company’s stock valued at $824,000 after purchasing an additional 1,874 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Monster Beverage by 12.8% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,864 shares of the company’s stock worth $254,000 after purchasing an additional 552 shares during the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Monster Beverage news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 76,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,220,011.38. This represents a 54.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was 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. This trade represents a 11.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Shares of MNST stock opened at $55.23 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $50.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.75 billion, a PE ratio of 35.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.71. 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 52 week low of $43.32 and a 52 week high of $61.22.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.02). Monster Beverage had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 23.31%. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MNST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Citigroup raised their target price on Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group upped their price target on Monster Beverage from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $59.00 price objective on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently 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.