AE Wealth Management LLC Raises Holdings in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST)

Key Points

• AE Wealth Management LLC has increased its stake in Monster Beverage Corporation by 10.9%, acquiring an additional 15,677 shares and bringing its total holdings to 158,885 shares valued at $9,298,000.
• Wall Street analysts have given Monster Beverage a consensus rating of "Hold" with an average target price of $61.91, following several price target adjustments ranging from $54.00 to $70.00.
• Monster Beverage reported a quarterly revenue of $1.85 billion, a 2.3% decrease year-over-year, alongside an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.47, beating estimates by $0.01.

AE Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 10.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 158,885 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 15,677 shares during the quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $9,298,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter worth approximately $442,642,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 659.1% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 4,872,972 shares of the company's stock worth $251,445,000 after purchasing an additional 4,231,063 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 5,095.6% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,063,351 shares of the company's stock worth $179,267,000 after purchasing an additional 3,004,391 shares in the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter worth approximately $121,575,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter worth approximately $110,942,000. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Monster Beverage news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 8,796 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.46, for a total value of $549,398.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 89,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,590,232.46. This represents a 8.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 27,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 $4,391,908.20. The trade was a 28.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 8.30% of the company's stock.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MNST traded down $0.22 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $60.44. The company had a trading volume of 1,028,149 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,013,842. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 3.37 and a quick ratio of 2.78. The company has a market cap of $58.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.78, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.59. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 12-month low of $43.32 and a 12-month high of $64.45. The company has a fifty day moving average of $62.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $57.35.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.01. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 27.46% and a net margin of 20.27%. The firm had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.42 EPS. Monster Beverage's revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MNST shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Monster Beverage from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. CICC Research raised Monster Beverage from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $56.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Monday, May 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Monster Beverage from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Roth Mkm upped their price objective 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, Citigroup upped their price objective on Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $61.91.

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.