Van ECK Associates Corp Boosts Holdings in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 154,125 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,780 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $8,101,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in Monster Beverage by 109.3% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 22,559,092 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,176,913,000 after purchasing an additional 11,779,162 shares during the last quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. grew its position in Monster Beverage by 250.9% during the 4th quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 3,468,660 shares of the company’s stock worth $178,801,000 after purchasing an additional 2,480,291 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Monster Beverage by 1,148.0% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,596,888 shares of the company’s stock worth $135,480,000 after purchasing an additional 2,388,798 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Monster Beverage by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,742,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,760,341,000 after purchasing an additional 2,168,379 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in Monster Beverage during the 3rd quarter worth $73,600,000. 72.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on MNST. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $59.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, BNP Paribas reduced their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Monster Beverage news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.65, for a total transaction of $526,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 74,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,944,748.60. The trade was a 11.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 7.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Shares of MNST opened at $49.25 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 3.13, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market cap of $47.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.57, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a 50-day moving average of $50.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $50.97. Monster Beverage Co. has a 12-month low of $43.32 and a 12-month high of $61.22.

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.