Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) Shares Acquired by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 118,231 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,723 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $6,811,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors lifted its position in Monster Beverage by 40.5% during the 4th quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors now owns 6,633 shares of the company’s stock worth $382,000 after acquiring an additional 1,912 shares in the last quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 128,443 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,400,000 after acquiring an additional 3,954 shares during the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 21.0% in the 4th quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 89,815 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,174,000 after acquiring an additional 15,598 shares during the last quarter. Keel Point LLC increased its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Keel Point LLC now owns 4,147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $239,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco LLC increased its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 34,157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,968,000 after acquiring an additional 737 shares during the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In related news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 659,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.55, for a total transaction of $38,584,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 777,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,542,532. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 9.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MNST has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. UBS Group upped their target price on Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Citigroup upped their target price on Monster Beverage from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Monster Beverage from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.11.

Monster Beverage Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of MNST opened at $53.46 on Friday. Monster Beverage Co. has a 1 year low of $47.13 and a 1 year high of $61.22. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.49. The stock has a market cap of $55.63 billion, a PE ratio of 34.49, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.72.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 20.95% and a net margin of 22.84%. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.76 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.28 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.