Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) Shares Acquired by Prudential PLC

Prudential PLC increased its stake in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 23.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 78,521 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 14,944 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $4,127,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MNST. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter worth $442,642,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 659.1% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 4,872,972 shares of the company’s stock valued at $251,445,000 after buying an additional 4,231,063 shares during the period. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 250.9% in the fourth quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 3,468,660 shares of the company’s stock valued at $178,801,000 after buying an additional 2,480,291 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in 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 during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter worth $106,882,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on MNST shares. BNP Paribas lowered their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $59.00 price target on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Two 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Monster Beverage currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Monster Beverage news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 76,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,220,011.38. The trade was a 54.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Guy Carling sold 47,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.02, for a total value of $2,585,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 21,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,210,054.86. This trade represents a 68.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 208,316 shares of company stock valued at $11,484,440 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MNST opened at $57.08 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.68. Monster Beverage Co. has a 52 week low of $43.32 and a 52 week high of $60.34. The company has a market cap of $55.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.59, 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 (NASDAQ:MNST) last posted 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 net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 23.31%. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

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.