Vest Financial LLC Purchases Shares of 4,225 Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

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

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Monster Beverage by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,112,000 shares of the company's stock worth $897,012,000 after acquiring an additional 1,383,914 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Monster Beverage by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,590,994 shares of the company's stock valued at $451,543,000 after purchasing an additional 734,406 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter valued at about $442,642,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Monster Beverage by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,357,921 shares of the company's stock valued at $386,732,000 after buying an additional 825,489 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 493,914 shares during the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MNST has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price target on Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Thursday. They set a "buy" rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.67.

Monster Beverage Stock Up 1.8%

NASDAQ:MNST traded up $1.10 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $63.69. 6,258,941 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,209,210. 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 twelve month low of $43.32 and a twelve month high of $64.45. The stock has a market cap of $62.11 billion, a PE ratio of 40.83, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.60. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $60.66 and a 200 day moving average of $55.39.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.97 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 23.31%. The firm's revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.42 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 8,796 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.46, for a total value of $549,398.16. Following the sale, the insider now owns 89,501 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,590,232.46. The trade was a 8.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Guy Carling sold 47,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.02, for a total value of $2,585,940.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 21,993 shares in the company, valued at $1,210,054.86. The trade was a 68.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 92,796 shares of company stock valued at $5,399,838 in the last three months. 8.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.