Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) Stock Position Increased by Toronto Dominion Bank

Toronto Dominion Bank increased its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 408,826 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 11,947 shares during the quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank's holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $21,488,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MNST. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter worth about $442,642,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 659.1% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 4,872,972 shares of the company's stock worth $251,445,000 after purchasing an additional 4,231,063 shares during the period. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 250.9% in the 4th quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 3,468,660 shares of the company's stock worth $178,801,000 after purchasing an additional 2,480,291 shares during the period. Champlain Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter worth about $121,575,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter worth about $106,882,000. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MNST traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $63.67. 13,500,761 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,853,907. Monster Beverage Co. has a twelve month low of $43.32 and a twelve month high of $64.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 3.13 and a quick ratio of 2.51. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $59.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.88.

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 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 business had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.42 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Roth Capital raised their price objective on Monster Beverage from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Monster Beverage from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, CICC Research upgraded Monster Beverage from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the company from $56.00 to $65.00 in a report on Monday, May 12th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $60.81.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In other Monster Beverage news, insider Guy Carling sold 47,000 shares of Monster Beverage 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 owns 21,993 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,210,054.86. The trade was a 68.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total value of $5,057,080.08. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 76,201 shares in the company, valued at $4,220,011.38. The trade was a 54.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 217,112 shares of company stock worth $12,033,838 in the last 90 days. 7.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.