Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Purchases 2,315 Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 156,071 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,315 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $8,203,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at $172,000. Argentarii LLC bought a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at $269,000. Personal CFO Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 52.1% in the 4th quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 6,042 shares of the company’s stock valued at $318,000 after purchasing an additional 2,069 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 70.6% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,786,477 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,182,000 after purchasing an additional 739,270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 211,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,133,000 after acquiring an additional 1,762 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In other Monster Beverage news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 48,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.89, for a total transaction of $2,634,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 296,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,293,876.94. The trade was a 13.92 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of Monster Beverage 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 76,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,220,011.38. The trade was a 54.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 7.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MNST opened at $54.34 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $50.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.67. Monster Beverage Co. has a twelve month low of $43.32 and a twelve month high of $61.21. The company has a market capitalization of $52.88 billion, a PE ratio of 34.83, a PEG 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 (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $59.00 price objective on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.