Prudential Financial Inc. Purchases 105,979 Shares of Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST

Prudential Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) by 29.4% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 466,835 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 105,979 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $29,243,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $497,157,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the second quarter worth $157,063,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 34.6% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 7,278,206 shares of the company’s stock worth $425,921,000 after acquiring an additional 1,872,075 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 39,281.2% in the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,379,522 shares of the company’s stock worth $86,413,000 after acquiring an additional 1,376,019 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi grew its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 69.8% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 3,032,591 shares of the company’s stock valued at $180,894,000 after purchasing an additional 1,246,114 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In related news, insider Guy Carling sold 38,438 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.33, for a total value of $2,741,782.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 21,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,568,760.69. This represents a 63.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 8.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Monster Beverage Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of MNST stock opened at $74.82 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.47, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $68.62 and a 200 day moving average of $64.53. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 52 week low of $45.70 and a 52 week high of $74.95.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.08. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 20.54% and a return on equity of 27.46%. The business had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.41 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MNST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Monster Beverage from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and set a $79.00 price target (up from $76.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $79.00 price objective on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Monster Beverage from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.62.

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.