Champlain Investment Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Champlain Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 2,313,065 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $121,575,000. Champlain Investment Partners LLC owned approximately 0.24% of Monster Beverage at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MNST. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. grew its stake in Monster Beverage by 62.5% during the fourth quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 528 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management bought a new position in Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of Monster Beverage stock traded up $1.30 on Tuesday, reaching $59.31. 1,666,559 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,055,301. The firm's 50-day moving average is $55.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.22. The company has a market capitalization of $57.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.64. 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 52 week low of $43.32 and a 52 week high of $60.34.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MNST. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $59.00 price target on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Monster Beverage presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $57.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Guy Carling sold 47,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 76,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,220,011.38. The trade was a 54.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 208,316 shares of company stock valued at $11,484,440. 7.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.