Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) Shares Purchased by National Bank of Canada FI

National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 40.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,102,207 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 319,108 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $64,577,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 34.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 26,841 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,421,000 after purchasing an additional 6,946 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 225.2% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 84,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,462,000 after acquiring an additional 58,360 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 43.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 6,639 shares of the company’s stock valued at $352,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its holdings in Monster Beverage by 17.1% in the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 11,071 shares of the company’s stock worth $586,000 after purchasing an additional 1,613 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in Monster Beverage by 14.1% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 313,863 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,619,000 after purchasing an additional 38,822 shares in the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MNST has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Monster Beverage from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $65.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 29th. HSBC lowered their price objective on Monster Beverage from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Monster Beverage from $58.00 to $56.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Monster Beverage from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.32.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In related news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 659,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 777,840 shares in the company, valued at $45,542,532. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 9.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Monster Beverage Stock Up 3.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ MNST traded up $1.61 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $55.00. The stock had a trading volume of 12,204,624 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,889,620. Monster Beverage Co. has a 1-year low of $47.13 and a 1-year high of $61.22. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $56.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.86. The company has a market capitalization of $57.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.59, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.74.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.01). Monster Beverage had a net margin of 22.83% and a return on equity of 21.13%. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.38 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.79 EPS for the current year.

About Monster Beverage

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.