Independent Advisor Alliance Increases Position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Independent Advisor Alliance increased its stake in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 63.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,412 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,480 shares during the quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $337,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MNST. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 109.3% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 22,559,092 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,176,913,000 after purchasing an additional 11,779,162 shares in the last quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 250.9% in the 4th quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 3,468,660 shares of the company’s stock valued at $178,801,000 after purchasing an additional 2,480,291 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,742,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,760,341,000 after purchasing an additional 2,168,379 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at about $106,882,000. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the 3rd quarter valued at about $73,600,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MNST has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.83.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

MNST opened at $56.80 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $50.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.92. 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 1 year low of $43.32 and a 1 year high of $61.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.28 billion, a PE ratio of 36.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.71.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last released 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). Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 23.31% and a net margin of 21.66%. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

In other Monster Beverage news, insider Guy Carling sold 47,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.02, for a total transaction of $2,585,940.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,210,054.86. The trade was a 68.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total transaction of $5,057,080.08. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 76,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,220,011.38. This trade represents a 54.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 208,316 shares of company stock valued at $11,484,440 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

About Monster Beverage

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.