Xponance Inc. Purchases 100,807 Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Xponance Inc. raised its stake in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 60.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 268,541 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 100,807 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $15,471,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 98.4% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 34,001,871 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,836,434,000 after buying an additional 16,863,544 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,005,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,397,411,000 after buying an additional 504,239 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 20.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 19,515,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,033,323,000 after buying an additional 3,296,466 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 103.0% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,361,510 shares of the company’s stock worth $773,729,000 after buying an additional 7,287,123 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 10,071,948 shares of the company’s stock worth $804,749,000 after buying an additional 912,942 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MNST opened at $53.38 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 market cap of $55.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.72. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $57.24 and a 200 day moving average of $55.49.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MNST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.11.

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.