JT Stratford LLC Invests $1.97 Million in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

JT Stratford LLC bought a new position in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 37,558 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,974,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter worth about $1,214,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 154,125 shares of the company's stock worth $8,101,000 after purchasing an additional 7,780 shares during the period. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter worth about $423,000. SYM FINANCIAL Corp bought a new position in Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter worth about $557,000. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in Monster Beverage by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,262,180 shares of the company's stock worth $66,340,000 after buying an additional 77,278 shares in the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 0.2%

Monster Beverage stock opened at $63.10 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.46. The company has a market cap of $61.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.63. Monster Beverage Co. has a 52-week low of $43.32 and a 52-week high of $63.49. The company has a quick ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 3.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 23.31% and a net margin of 21.66%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.42 EPS. Analysts predict that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

In other news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.27, for a total transaction of $552,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 72,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,994,528.71. The trade was a 12.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark J. Hall sold 48,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.89, for a total value of $2,634,720.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 296,846 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,293,876.94. The trade was a 13.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 217,112 shares of company stock worth $12,033,838 in the last three months. 8.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MNST shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $60.50.

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.

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