Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) Shares Purchased by International Assets Investment Management LLC

International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 1,220.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 36,755 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 33,971 shares during the quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC's holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $2,117,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 98.4% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 34,001,871 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,836,434,000 after acquiring an additional 16,863,544 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 1.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,005,150 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,397,411,000 after purchasing an additional 504,239 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 20.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 19,515,062 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,033,323,000 after purchasing an additional 3,296,466 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 103.0% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,361,510 shares of the company's stock valued at $773,729,000 after purchasing an additional 7,287,123 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 10.0% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 10,071,948 shares of the company's stock valued at $804,749,000 after purchasing an additional 912,942 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 659,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.55, for a total value of $38,584,450.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 777,840 shares in the company, valued at $45,542,532. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 9.40% of the company's stock.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MNST traded down $0.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $53.14. The company had a trading volume of 10,405,161 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,731,734. The company has a market capitalization of $55.30 billion, a PE ratio of 34.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.72. Monster Beverage Co. has a 1-year low of $47.13 and a 1-year high of $61.22. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $57.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.53.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.38. The business had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.76 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 20.95% and a net margin of 22.84%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.28 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.81 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MNST. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Monster Beverage from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Monster Beverage from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $63.11.

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.