Midwest Professional Planners LTD. Boosts Stake in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Midwest Professional Planners LTD. raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 11.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,952 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,044 shares during the period. Midwest Professional Planners LTD.’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $523,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,214,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 154,125 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,101,000 after buying an additional 7,780 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 6.6% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 251,570 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,124,000 after buying an additional 15,611 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 6.7% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 151,364 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,897,000 after buying an additional 9,496 shares during the period. Finally, Miracle Mile Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter worth about $7,090,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In other news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total transaction of $5,057,080.08. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 76,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,220,011.38. This represents a 54.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark J. Hall sold 48,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.89, for a total value of $2,634,720.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 296,846 shares in the company, valued at $16,293,876.94. The trade was a 13.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 186,316 shares of company stock worth $10,277,740. 7.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MNST shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $59.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group upped their target price on Monster Beverage from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. 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 research report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Monster Beverage currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.83.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ MNST opened at $55.09 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $50.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.73. Monster Beverage Co. has a 52-week low of $43.32 and a 52-week high of $61.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.31, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a quick ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 3.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 23.31%. On average, analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.