Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Grows Stock Position in Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) by 6.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,439,495 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 85,995 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.15% of Monster Beverage worth $90,170,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage in the 1st quarter worth approximately $497,157,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $157,063,000. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 54.7% in the 1st quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 5,366,126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $303,728,000 after purchasing an additional 1,897,466 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 34.6% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 7,278,206 shares of the company’s stock worth $425,921,000 after buying an additional 1,872,075 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 39,281.2% during the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,379,522 shares of the company’s stock worth $86,413,000 after buying an additional 1,376,019 shares in the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 5.2%

NASDAQ:MNST opened at $69.73 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $66.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $63.50. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 12 month low of $45.70 and a 12 month high of $72.62. The firm has a market cap of $68.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.53.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.08. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 27.46% and a net margin of 20.54%.The business had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.41 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $79.00 price objective (up previously from $76.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Monster Beverage from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen raised Monster Beverage from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. UBS Group raised their price objective on Monster Beverage from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Roth Capital reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $60.00 target price (up from $56.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.41.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In other news, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.73, for a total transaction of $637,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 51,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,262,402.43. This represents a 16.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 8.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.