Ethic Inc. Purchases 669 Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Ethic Inc. lifted its holdings in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,457 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 669 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $1,128,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,214,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 154,125 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,101,000 after buying an additional 7,780 shares during the period. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at $423,000. SYM FINANCIAL Corp acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter valued at $557,000. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in Monster Beverage by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,262,180 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,340,000 after acquiring an additional 77,278 shares in the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

MNST opened at $60.23 on Wednesday. Monster Beverage Co. has a 1 year low of $43.32 and a 1 year 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 market capitalization of $58.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.63. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $58.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.06.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 23.31%. The business had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.42 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MNST shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Friday, February 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $60.42.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Monster Beverage news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 48,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.89, for a total value of $2,634,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 296,846 shares in the company, valued at $16,293,876.94. This represents a 13.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 shares were sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total value of $5,057,080.08. Following the sale, 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 a total of 208,316 shares of company stock valued at $11,484,440 in the last 90 days. 8.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.