Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Has $2.99 Million Stock Holdings in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 26.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 57,235 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 11,893 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $2,994,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MNST. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 62.5% during the 4th quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 528 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MNST shares. BNP Paribas lowered their price target on Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Friday, February 28th. Citigroup upped their target price on Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.83.

Monster Beverage Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MNST opened at $56.80 on Wednesday. Monster Beverage Co. has a 1 year low of $43.32 and a 1 year high of $61.03. The company has a market cap of $55.28 billion, a PE ratio of 36.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.71. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $50.99 and its 200 day moving average is $51.92.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 23.31%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

In other news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was 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 $4,220,011.38. The trade was a 54.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.27, for a total transaction of $552,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 72,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,994,528.71. The trade was a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 208,316 shares of company stock valued at $11,484,440. 7.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.