Schroder Investment Management Group Raises Stock Position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Schroder Investment Management Group grew its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 405,677 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 13,999 shares during the quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $21,310,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 62.5% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Monster Beverage by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 13,578 shares of the company’s stock worth $714,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its stake in Monster Beverage by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 6,991 shares of the company’s stock worth $367,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the period. Level Four Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Monster Beverage by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,996 shares of the company’s stock valued at $263,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sapient Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 46,082 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,422,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

NASDAQ MNST opened at $59.36 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $57.77 billion, a PE ratio of 38.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $52.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.58. 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 52-week low of $43.32 and a 52-week high of $59.42.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 23.31%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

In other news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 48,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.89, for a total transaction of $2,634,720.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 296,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,293,876.94. This represents a 13.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total value of $5,057,080.08. Following the sale, the insider now owns 76,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,220,011.38. This represents a 54.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 208,316 shares of company stock worth $11,484,440 over the last quarter. Insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on MNST. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group raised their price target on Monster Beverage from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. BNP Paribas cut their price objective on Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.11.

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.