Zions Bancorporation National Association UT Makes New $4.80 Million Investment in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST)

Key Points

• Zions Bancorporation acquired 82,019 shares of Monster Beverage Corporation valued at approximately $4.8 million during the first quarter, reflecting continued interest in the company from institutional investors.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Monster Beverage, with JPMorgan Chase & Co. increasing it from $64 to $68, while the average target price is now $64.90, indicating a favorable outlook for the stock.
• Monster Beverage reported a 20.54% net margin and earnings of $0.52 per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates and showcasing strong revenue growth compared to the previous year.

Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 82,019 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,800,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MNST. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 5,095.6% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,063,351 shares of the company's stock valued at $179,267,000 after acquiring an additional 3,004,391 shares in the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $121,575,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $110,942,000. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 54.7% during the first 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 during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 5,880.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,254,259 shares of the company's stock valued at $73,399,000 after buying an additional 1,233,286 shares during the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

NASDAQ:MNST traded up $0.37 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $64.03. 7,451,722 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,229,803. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 52-week low of $45.70 and a 52-week high of $66.75. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $61.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.23. The company has a current ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 3.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a market cap of $62.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.55.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.04. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 27.46% and a net margin of 20.54%. The company had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.41 EPS. Monster Beverage's quarterly revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In related news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 27,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.40, for a total value of $1,711,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 69,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,391,908.20. This trade represents a 28.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 8,796 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.46, for a total value of $549,398.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 89,501 shares in the company, valued at $5,590,232.46. This represents a 8.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 7.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MNST. Rothschild & Co Redburn cut Monster Beverage from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. CICC Research upgraded Monster Beverage from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $56.00 to $65.00 in a report on Monday, May 12th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $73.00 price objective on Monster Beverage and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Roth Capital upped their target price on Monster Beverage from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $64.90.

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.