Marshall Wace LLP Acquires 24,396 Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 27.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 114,094 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 24,396 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP's holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $5,997,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 62.5% during the fourth quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 528 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MNST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on Monster Beverage from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $58.39.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.27, for a total transaction of $552,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 72,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,994,528.71. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $5,057,080.08. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 76,201 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,220,011.38. This represents a 54.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 208,316 shares of company stock worth $11,484,440 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 7.80% of the company's stock.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

MNST stock traded up $0.20 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $58.69. The company had a trading volume of 384,491 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,015,593. Monster Beverage Co. has a 1-year low of $43.32 and a 1-year high of $60.34. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $56.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $53.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 3.13 and a quick ratio of 2.51. The company has a market capitalization of $57.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.64.

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

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.