Merit Financial Group LLC Buys 5,441 Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 81.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,094 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,441 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $708,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 13,578 shares of the company's stock valued at $714,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 11,838 shares of the company's stock worth $622,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. Level Four Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,996 shares of the company's stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 46,082 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,422,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. Finally, Dogwood Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Monster Beverage by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,323 shares of the company's stock worth $700,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 8,796 shares of Monster Beverage 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 transaction, the insider now owns 89,501 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Guy Carling sold 47,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.02, for a total transaction of $2,585,940.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 21,993 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,210,054.86. This represents a 68.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 92,796 shares of company stock valued at $5,399,838 over the last quarter. Insiders own 8.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on MNST shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Monster Beverage from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Roth Mkm upped 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Monster Beverage currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.67.

Monster Beverage Stock Up 1.8%

NASDAQ MNST traded up $1.10 during trading on Thursday, reaching $63.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,258,941 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,209,210. The company has a current ratio of 3.13, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.11 billion, a PE ratio of 40.83, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.60. Monster Beverage Co. has a 1-year low of $43.32 and a 1-year high of $64.45. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $60.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $55.39.

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

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.