PFG Investments LLC Raises Stake in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

PFG Investments LLC grew its position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,761 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $447,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 1.6% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 10,286 shares of the company’s stock worth $822,000 after buying an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL raised its position in Monster Beverage by 7.5% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 2,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $203,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Delta Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 0.9% in the third quarter. Delta Financial Advisors LLC now owns 19,168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,015,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 3,659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $211,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 34.6% in the third quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 774 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

MNST opened at $59.20 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.61 billion, a PE ratio of 38.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $57.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.39. Monster Beverage Co. has a 12-month low of $47.13 and a 12-month high of $61.22.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.76 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 22.84% and a return on equity of 20.95%. The firm’s revenue was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.28 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Monster Beverage news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 659,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 9.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.55.

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.