Bank of Nova Scotia Has $5.31 Million Holdings in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST)

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia has reduced its holdings in Monster Beverage Corporation by 64.3%, selling 163,280 shares and retaining ownership of 90,692 shares valued at approximately $5.3 million.
• Multiple hedge funds have also adjusted their stakes in Monster Beverage, with an overall 72.36% of the stock currently held by institutional investors.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Monster Beverage, with two sell ratings, nine hold ratings, and thirteen buy ratings, and an average target price of $61.91.

Bank of Nova Scotia cut its stake in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 64.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 90,692 shares of the company's stock after selling 163,280 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $5,307,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage in the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 259.2% during the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 686 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 495 shares during the period. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 37.1% during the 1st quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 724 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the period. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the 1st quarter valued at $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 8,796 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.46, for a total transaction of $549,398.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 89,501 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,590,232.46. This trade represents a 8.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 27,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.40, for a total value of $1,711,800.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 69,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,391,908.20. The trade was a 28.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 8.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $68.00 price target on Monster Beverage and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. Bank of America lifted their price target on Monster Beverage from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Roth Capital lifted their price target 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, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Monster Beverage from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $64.22.

Monster Beverage Stock Up 6.4%

Shares of MNST stock traded up $3.89 on Friday, reaching $64.69. 12,216,027 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,160,069. The company has a market capitalization of $63.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.55. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 12-month low of $45.19 and a 12-month high of $66.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.78 and a current ratio of 3.37. The business's 50 day moving average price is $61.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $57.88.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.08 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 28.71% and a net margin of 20.54%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.41 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current 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.