Motley Fool Asset Management LLC Has $3.77 Million Stock Holdings in Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC raised its position in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) by 13.8% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 60,180 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,285 shares during the period. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $3,770,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MNST. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Monster Beverage in the 1st quarter valued at $497,157,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd acquired a new position in Monster Beverage in the 2nd quarter valued at $157,063,000. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Monster Beverage by 54.7% in the 1st quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 5,366,126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $303,728,000 after buying an additional 1,897,466 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in Monster Beverage by 34.6% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 7,278,206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $425,921,000 after buying an additional 1,872,075 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its holdings in Monster Beverage by 69.8% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 3,032,591 shares of the company’s stock valued at $180,894,000 after buying an additional 1,246,114 shares in the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Monster Beverage Stock Down 0.0%

NASDAQ:MNST opened at $69.68 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $65.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.04 billion, a PE ratio of 43.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.54. Monster Beverage Corporation has a twelve month low of $45.70 and a twelve month high of $70.72.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.08 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 27.46% and a net margin of 20.54%.Monster Beverage’s revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.41 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on MNST. Wells Fargo & Company set a $73.00 price objective on Monster Beverage and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered Monster Beverage from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Redburn Atlantic lowered Monster Beverage from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $63.00 to $60.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Monster Beverage from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Monster Beverage from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $66.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.73, for a total value of $637,300.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 51,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,262,402.43. This trade represents a 16.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 8.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.