PDS Planning Inc Increases Holdings in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

PDS Planning Inc lifted its position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,340 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $228,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 62.5% in the fourth quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 1.5% in the fourth 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 boosted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 6,991 shares of the company’s stock valued at $367,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the period. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 1.3% in the third quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC now owns 17,821 shares of the company’s stock valued at $930,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the period. Finally, Sapient Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 46,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,422,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on MNST. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $59.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group upped their target price on Monster Beverage from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.83.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.27, for a total transaction of $552,700.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 72,273 shares in the company, valued at $3,994,528.71. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Mark J. Hall sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.50, for a total value of $654,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 296,846 shares in the company, valued at $16,178,107. This trade represents a 3.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 208,316 shares of company stock worth $11,484,440 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

Shares of MNST opened at $56.82 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $51.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.96. The company has a market capitalization of $55.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a current ratio of 3.13. Monster Beverage Co. has a fifty-two week low of $43.32 and a fifty-two week high of $60.82.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 23.31% and a net margin of 21.66%. Research analysts predict that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current year.

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.