USS Investment Management Ltd Purchases Shares of 140,526 Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

USS Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 140,526 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,387,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 300.5% in the 4th quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 1,378,219 shares of the company's stock valued at $72,439,000 after buying an additional 1,034,083 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Wealth Strategies LLC. boosted its stake in Monster Beverage by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Wealth Strategies LLC. now owns 31,043 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,537,000 after acquiring an additional 2,866 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 20,237 shares of the company's stock worth $1,064,000 after purchasing an additional 2,193 shares during the last quarter. Twinbeech Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter worth about $18,583,000. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter worth about $8,042,000. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MNST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. CICC Research raised 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 research report on Monday, May 12th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Roth Mkm increased their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Roth Capital raised their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $60.81.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In related news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 8,796 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $5,590,232.46. This trade represents a 8.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark J. Hall sold 48,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.89, for a total value of $2,634,720.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 296,846 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,293,876.94. The trade was a 13.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 217,112 shares of company stock worth $12,033,838 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 8.30% of the company's stock.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

MNST stock traded up $0.41 on Tuesday, reaching $63.77. 1,632,492 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,919,793. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $59.39 and a 200-day moving average of $54.65. The firm has a market cap of $62.20 billion, a PE ratio of 40.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a quick ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 3.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Monster Beverage Co. has a twelve month low of $43.32 and a twelve month high of $64.22.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.01. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 23.31%. The company had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.42 EPS. The business's revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal 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.