Czech National Bank Boosts Holdings in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Czech National Bank lifted its stake in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 5.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 160,828 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,007 shares during the period. Czech National Bank's holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $9,412,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. grew its holdings in Monster Beverage by 62.5% during the 4th quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 528 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new position in Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC raised its stake in Monster Beverage by 259.2% in the fourth quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 686 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 495 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

MNST traded down $0.16 during trading on Thursday, hitting $63.00. The stock had a trading volume of 4,586,488 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,616,101. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.38, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.63. The company's 50-day moving average price is $60.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.07. 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 twelve month low of $43.32 and a twelve month high of $64.45.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.01. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 23.31% and a net margin of 21.66%. The firm had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.42 earnings per share. Monster Beverage's quarterly revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MNST shares. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Friday, February 28th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. CICC Research upgraded shares of Monster Beverage from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the company from $56.00 to $65.00 in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $60.81.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In related news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 48,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.89, for a total value of $2,634,720.00. Following the sale, the director now 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 8,796 shares of the firm'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 now directly owns 89,501 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,590,232.46. The trade was a 8.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 152,796 shares of company stock worth $8,688,558 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 8.30% of the company's stock.

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.