Merit Financial Group LLC Grows Position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 81.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,094 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,441 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $708,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC boosted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 259.2% during the fourth 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 purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.36% of the company's stock.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 0.7%

NASDAQ MNST opened at $63.41 on Monday. Monster Beverage Co. has a 12 month low of $43.32 and a 12 month high of $64.45. The stock has a market cap of $61.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.60. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $60.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.22. The company has a current ratio of 3.13, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.47 EPS 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 analysts' expectations of $1.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.42 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In other news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 8,796 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.46, for a total value of $549,398.16. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 89,501 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,590,232.46. This represents a 8.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 27,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.40, for a total value of $1,711,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 69,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,391,908.20. This represents a 28.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 152,796 shares of company stock valued at $8,688,558. Insiders own 8.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Friday, February 28th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Monster Beverage from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. CICC Research upgraded 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. UBS Group upped their target price on Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $60.81.

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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