MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH Makes New Investment in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 37,153 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,174,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in 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 acquiring an additional 7,780 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,262,180 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,340,000 after buying an additional 77,278 shares during the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 113,866 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,985,000 after buying an additional 6,210 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter valued at about $365,000. Finally, Blue Chip Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC now owns 228,764 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,024,000 after buying an additional 6,917 shares during the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Monster Beverage Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:MNST opened at $63.06 on Monday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $60.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.51. The stock has a market cap of $61.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.60. Monster Beverage Co. has a fifty-two week low of $43.32 and a fifty-two week high of $64.45. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.97 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 23.31%. The firm's revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.42 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Monster Beverage news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 27,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.40, for a total transaction of $1,711,800.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 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 firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 89,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,590,232.46. The trade was a 8.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 8.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MNST. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. CICC Research raised shares of 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 report on Monday, May 12th. Roth Mkm increased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $62.05.

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.

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