5,213 Shares in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) Acquired by DRW Securities LLC

DRW Securities LLC bought a new stake in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 5,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $274,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. grew its stake in Monster Beverage by 62.5% during the fourth quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 528 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 13,578 shares of the company’s stock valued at $714,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its stake in Monster Beverage by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 6,991 shares of the company’s stock worth $367,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,996 shares of the company’s stock worth $263,000 after buying an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sapient Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 46,082 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,422,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MNST. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group raised their target price on Monster Beverage from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Citigroup boosted their target price on Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Monster Beverage 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.11.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In related news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.27, for a total value of $552,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 72,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,994,528.71. The trade was a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Mark J. Hall sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.50, for a total transaction of $654,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 296,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,178,107. The trade was a 3.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 208,316 shares of company stock valued at $11,484,440. Corporate insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

MNST opened at $57.77 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $54.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $52.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.22 billion, a PE ratio of 37.03, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.64. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $43.32 and a twelve month high of $60.34.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last released 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). The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 23.31% and a net margin of 21.66%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.