O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Purchases 8,551 Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 16.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 61,033 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,551 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $3,618,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 360.0% in the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 506 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 396 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 187.6% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 716 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 467 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 68.1% in the first quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 950 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 385 shares during the period. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the first quarter worth approximately $66,000. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MNST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Monster Beverage from $65.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Roth Mkm dropped their price target on Monster Beverage from $59.00 to $56.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Monster Beverage from $69.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Monster Beverage from $59.00 to $56.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Monster Beverage from $63.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $59.33.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MNST traded down $0.05 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $50.31. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,158,999 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,392,904. The firm has a market cap of $52.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.76. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $50.96 and a 200-day moving average of $54.56. Monster Beverage Co. has a 12 month low of $47.13 and a 12 month high of $61.22.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 22.83% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.38 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 250,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.22, for a total transaction of $13,055,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 532,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,820,413.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 250,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.22, for a total transaction of $13,055,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 532,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,820,413.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Hilton H. Schlosberg sold 42,144 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.00, for a total value of $2,233,632.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,875,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,404,574. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 307,221 shares of company stock valued at $16,070,374 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

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.