Mufg Securities Americas Inc. Makes New Investment in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Mufg Securities Americas Inc. acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 10,336 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $543,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. boosted its position 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 during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management bought a new position in Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on MNST shares. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $59.00 price target on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Monster Beverage from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $60.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

In related news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.27, for a total value of $552,700.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 72,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,994,528.71. This represents a 12.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Guy Carling sold 47,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.02, for a total transaction of $2,585,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,993 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,210,054.86. This represents a 68.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 208,316 shares of company stock valued at $11,484,440. Company insiders own 8.30% of the company's stock.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

MNST stock traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $62.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,009,498 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,966,950. The company's 50 day moving average is $58.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.26. The company has a current ratio of 3.13, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market cap of $61.34 billion, a PE ratio of 40.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.63. Monster Beverage Co. has a fifty-two week low of $43.32 and a fifty-two week high of $63.25.

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 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 the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 23.31%. The company's revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.42 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 EPS 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.