Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) Shares Purchased by Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 16.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 75,010 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 10,640 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $4,390,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MNST. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,112,000 shares of the company's stock worth $897,012,000 after purchasing an additional 1,383,914 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Monster Beverage by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,590,994 shares of the company's stock worth $451,543,000 after buying an additional 734,406 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $442,642,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,357,921 shares of the company's stock worth $386,732,000 after acquiring an additional 825,489 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,406,131 shares of the company's stock worth $284,146,000 after acquiring an additional 493,914 shares during the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In related news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 27,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.40, for a total transaction of $1,711,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 69,273 shares in the company, valued at $4,391,908.20. The trade was a 28.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 8,796 shares of the business's 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 89,501 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,590,232.46. This trade represents a 8.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 8.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on Monster Beverage from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. UBS Group boosted 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, Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on Monster Beverage in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. They set a "buy" rating and a $72.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $62.05.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MNST traded down $0.77 during trading on Friday, hitting $61.42. 1,008,624 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,991,988. The company has a market cap of $59.90 billion, a PE ratio of 40.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 3.37, a quick ratio of 2.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $61.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $56.06. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 12-month low of $43.32 and a 12-month high of $64.45.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 27.46% and a net margin of 20.27%. Monster Beverage's quarterly revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.42 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

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.