Investment Management Corp of Ontario Acquires 17,396 Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Investment Management Corp of Ontario boosted its holdings in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 70.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 41,917 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 17,396 shares during the quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario's holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $2,203,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its holdings in Monster Beverage by 62.5% in 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 in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management bought a new stake in Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 76,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,220,011.38. This represents a 54.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 72,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,994,528.71. The trade was a 12.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 208,316 shares of company stock worth $11,484,440. Insiders own 8.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MNST has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. CICC Research raised Monster Beverage from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the company from $56.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Monday. Bank of America lifted their price target on Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $59.00 price objective on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Monster Beverage currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $60.50.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MNST traded up $1.33 during trading on Thursday, reaching $62.33. 6,752,714 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,950,118. Monster Beverage Co. has a 52-week low of $43.32 and a 52-week high of $62.46. 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 50-day moving average of $58.21 and a 200-day moving average of $54.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.63.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.97 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 23.31% and a net margin of 21.66%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.42 EPS. Analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.