Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) Shares Bought by UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 10.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,406,131 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 493,914 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned about 0.56% of Monster Beverage worth $284,146,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MNST. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 25.1% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 6,653 shares of the company's stock worth $350,000 after purchasing an additional 1,335 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Monster Beverage by 29.2% during the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,654 shares of the company's stock worth $613,000 after buying an additional 2,631 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 57.4% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,223 shares of the company's stock worth $117,000 after acquiring an additional 811 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 4,705 shares of the company's stock worth $247,000 after acquiring an additional 373 shares during the period. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 9,321 shares of the company's stock worth $490,000 after purchasing an additional 1,142 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.36% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.27, for a total value of $552,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 72,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,994,528.71. This represents a 12.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark J. Hall sold 48,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.89, for a total transaction of $2,634,720.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 296,846 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,293,876.94. The trade was a 13.92% 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 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 8.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MNST has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $60.81.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MNST traded up $0.41 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $63.77. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,632,492 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,919,793. The company has a market cap of $62.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.63. Monster Beverage Co. has a 12-month low of $43.32 and a 12-month high of $64.22. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $59.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a current ratio of 3.13.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.42 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Co. 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.