Vest Financial LLC Takes Position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Vest Financial LLC bought a new stake in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 4,225 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $247,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 154,125 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,101,000 after acquiring an additional 7,780 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,262,180 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,340,000 after acquiring an additional 77,278 shares during the period. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at $1,624,000. iA Global Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 113,866 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,985,000 after acquiring an additional 6,210 shares during the period. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at $365,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.36% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 27,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.40, for a total value of $1,711,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 69,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,391,908.20. The trade was a 28.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark J. Hall sold 48,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 296,846 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,293,876.94. This trade represents a 13.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 152,796 shares of company stock valued at $8,688,558. Company insiders own 8.30% of the company's stock.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

Shares of MNST stock opened at $63.41 on Monday. The firm 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 3.13 and a quick ratio of 2.51. Monster Beverage Co. has a 1-year low of $43.32 and a 1-year high of $64.45. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $60.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $55.22.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.42 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Roth Mkm lifted 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. Citigroup lifted their price target 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. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $60.81.

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.

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