Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC Buys 1,034,083 Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC lifted its position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 300.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,378,219 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,034,083 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.14% of Monster Beverage worth $72,439,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MNST. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 62.5% in the 4th quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 528 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management bought a new stake in Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC increased its stake in Monster Beverage by 259.2% during the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 686 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 495 shares in the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

In other Monster Beverage news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total transaction of $5,057,080.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 76,201 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,220,011.38. This trade represents a 54.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark J. Hall sold 48,000 shares of Monster Beverage 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 directly owns 296,846 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,293,876.94. This represents a 13.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 217,112 shares of company stock valued at $12,033,838 in the last quarter. 8.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Monster Beverage Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:MNST traded up $0.49 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $63.36. The stock had a trading volume of 3,508,902 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,940,639. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $59.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.58. Monster Beverage Co. has a 12 month low of $43.32 and a 12 month high of $63.49. The company has a market cap of $61.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.62, a PEG 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 (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.01. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 23.31% and a net margin of 21.66%. The business had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.42 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Roth Mkm increased their target price on Monster Beverage from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Citigroup increased their target price on Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Monster Beverage from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. CICC Research raised Monster Beverage from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $56.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. 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 company presently has a consensus 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.