Van ECK Associates Corp Purchases 9,201 Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 8.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 116,297 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,201 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $6,700,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MNST. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 20.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 19,515,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,033,323,000 after acquiring an additional 3,296,466 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 61.5% in the 3rd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 3,431,785 shares of the company’s stock worth $181,713,000 after purchasing an additional 1,307,482 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 33.5% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,782,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $200,261,000 after purchasing an additional 948,133 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Monster Beverage by 32.2% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,823,265 shares of the company’s stock worth $149,492,000 after purchasing an additional 686,889 shares during the period. Finally, ING Groep NV grew its holdings in Monster Beverage by 78.2% during the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 1,230,778 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,170,000 after buying an additional 540,285 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Stock Up 3.0 %

MNST stock opened at $55.00 on Friday. Monster Beverage Co. has a twelve month low of $47.13 and a twelve month high of $61.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.74. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $56.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $55.73.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced 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 net margin of 22.84% and a return on equity of 20.95%. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.38 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.8 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on MNST. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. HSBC cut their price objective on Monster Beverage from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Monster Beverage from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $66.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.32.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

In other news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 659,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.55, for a total transaction of $38,584,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 777,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,542,532. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 9.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.