Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST Stock: UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Boosts Position

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp raised its holdings in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) by 90.5% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 147,171 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 69,932 shares during the period. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $6,125,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. SteelPeak Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 101.6% in the 3rd quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 57,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,396,000 after purchasing an additional 29,014 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 97.6% during the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 28,963 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,205,000 after purchasing an additional 14,308 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 97.6% during the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 146,109 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,081,000 after purchasing an additional 72,173 shares during the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its stake in Monster Beverage by 399.2% in the third quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 33,613 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,399,000 after purchasing an additional 26,880 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Monster Beverage in the third quarter worth about $1,907,000. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MNST opened at $45.40 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $44.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.37. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 1-year low of $35.03 and a 1-year high of $50.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.51.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.30. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 22.66% and a return on equity of 24.99%. The business had revenue of $2.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.56 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MNST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. BNP Paribas Exane reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $98.00 target price (up from $84.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Monday, September 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Friday, November 6th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $50.00 target price (up from $49.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Friday, November 6th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Monster Beverage from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.07.

About Monster Beverage

Monster Beverage Corporation develops, markets and sells energy drinks and other beverages. Its portfolio includes Monster Energy, Reign, NOS and Full Throttle, along with products in categories such as sports drinks, juices and alcoholic beverages. The company traces its roots to Hansen’s, a beverage business established in the 1930s. It introduced the Monster Energy brand in 2002 and adopted the Monster Beverage name in 2012. Based in Corona, California, Monster sells its products in the United States and internationally.