Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Acquires 538 Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its holdings in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 71,557 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 538 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $4,122,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 13,220 shares of the company’s stock worth $700,000 after buying an additional 965 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in Monster Beverage by 28.6% in the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 7,573 shares of the company’s stock valued at $396,000 after purchasing an additional 1,683 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Monster Beverage by 42.4% during the third quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,149 shares of the company’s stock valued at $537,000 after purchasing an additional 3,020 shares during the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its stake in Monster Beverage by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 5,945 shares of the company’s stock worth $315,000 after buying an additional 729 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KFG Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 15.2% in the 3rd quarter. KFG Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $392,000 after buying an additional 978 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In related news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 659,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.55, for a total value of $38,584,450.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 777,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,542,532. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 9.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Monster Beverage from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, HSBC cut their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.11.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

MNST opened at $53.60 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.78 billion, a PE ratio of 34.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.72. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $57.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.57. Monster Beverage Co. has a 52-week low of $47.13 and a 52-week high of $61.22.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.76 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.28 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Monster Beverage Company 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.