Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Boosts Stake in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 26.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 57,235 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,893 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $2,994,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MNST. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. boosted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 62.5% in the 4th quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 528 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 13,578 shares of the company’s stock worth $714,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 6,991 shares of the company’s stock worth $367,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the period. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC now owns 17,821 shares of the company’s stock worth $930,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the period. Finally, Sapient Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 46,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,422,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the period. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Monster Beverage news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 48,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.89, for a total transaction of $2,634,720.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 296,846 shares in the company, valued at $16,293,876.94. This represents a 13.92 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total transaction of $5,057,080.08. Following the sale, the insider now 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 208,316 shares of company stock valued at $11,484,440. Company insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group increased their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $59.00 price objective on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective 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 issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.83.

Monster Beverage Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ MNST opened at $56.80 on Wednesday. Monster Beverage Co. has a 12-month low of $43.32 and a 12-month high of $61.03. The stock has a market cap of $55.28 billion, a PE ratio of 36.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.71. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $50.99 and a 200 day moving average of $51.92.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.02). Monster Beverage had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 23.31%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.