Securian Asset Management Inc. Has $2.30 Million Position in Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST

Securian Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) by 0.9% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 36,657 shares of the company’s stock after selling 351 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $2,296,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Twin Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 11.6% in the 1st quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $305,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. OMNI 360 Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the 2nd quarter valued at $365,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 315,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,475,000 after purchasing an additional 7,465 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 76.2% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 66,906 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,915,000 after purchasing an additional 28,932 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,289,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,455,000 after purchasing an additional 11,443 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of Monster Beverage stock opened at $69.72 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $65.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $62.54. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 1-year low of $45.70 and a 1-year high of $70.72. The company has a market cap of $68.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.30, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.54.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MNST shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $79.00 target price (up previously from $76.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Monster Beverage from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. UBS Group increased their price target on Monster Beverage from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Redburn Atlantic cut Monster Beverage from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $63.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $66.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Monster Beverage news, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.73, for a total transaction of $637,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 51,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,262,402.43. This trade represents a 16.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 8.30% of the company’s stock.

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.