ProShare Advisors LLC Buys 205,292 Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 22.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,121,563 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 205,292 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.11% of Monster Beverage worth $66,486,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MNST. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 59.9% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 132,086 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,609,000 after purchasing an additional 49,495 shares during the last quarter. Alaethes Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter worth $1,528,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter valued at about $7,340,000. Defender Capital LLC. raised its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 30.2% during the fourth quarter. Defender Capital LLC. now owns 371,077 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,378,000 after acquiring an additional 86,050 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter worth about $517,035,000. 72.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

Monster Beverage stock traded up $0.25 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $50.74. The stock had a trading volume of 3,059,807 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,423,836. The company has a market capitalization of $52.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.75, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.76. Monster Beverage Co. has a one year low of $47.13 and a one year high of $61.22. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $51.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.76.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.01). Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 22.83%. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.38 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

In other news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 250,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.22, for a total value of $13,055,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 532,754 shares in the company, valued at $27,820,413.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 250,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.22, for a total value of $13,055,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 532,754 shares in the company, valued at $27,820,413.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 15,077 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.85, for a total transaction of $781,742.45. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 68,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,534,458.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 307,221 shares of company stock worth $16,070,374. Insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Roth Mkm reduced their price target on Monster Beverage from $59.00 to $56.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Monster Beverage from $65.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Monster Beverage from $66.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 14th. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $48.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Monster Beverage from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $66.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $59.48.

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.