Mariner LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Mariner LLC grew its position in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 141,646 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 5,409 shares during the quarter. Mariner LLC's holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $7,445,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter valued at $442,642,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its position in Monster Beverage by 659.1% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 4,872,972 shares of the company's stock worth $251,445,000 after purchasing an additional 4,231,063 shares during the period. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 250.9% during the 4th quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 3,468,660 shares of the company's stock valued at $178,801,000 after buying an additional 2,480,291 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter worth about $106,882,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,112,000 shares of the company's stock worth $897,012,000 after buying an additional 1,383,914 shares during the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

MNST stock traded down $0.23 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $58.86. The stock had a trading volume of 972,351 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,050,098. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a current ratio of 3.13. The stock has a market cap of $57.28 billion, a PE ratio of 37.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.64. Monster Beverage Co. has a 52-week low of $43.32 and a 52-week high of $60.34.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.80 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 23.31% and a net margin of 21.66%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

In other news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was 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 directly owns 72,273 shares in the company, valued at $3,994,528.71. This represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Mark J. Hall sold 12,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.50, for a total value of $654,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 296,846 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,178,107. The trade was a 3.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 208,316 shares of company stock valued at $11,484,440 over the last quarter. 7.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on MNST. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $59.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $57.89.

Monster Beverage Company 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.