Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 131,086 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,522 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $6,890,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MNST. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. lifted its stake in Monster Beverage by 62.5% in the fourth quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 528 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management bought a new position in Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

NASDAQ MNST opened at $57.31 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 3.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.74, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $51.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $52.06. Monster Beverage Co. has a 52 week low of $43.32 and a 52 week high of $60.13.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Monster Beverage news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.50, for a total transaction of $654,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 296,846 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,178,107. This trade represents a 3.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the company’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 transaction of $5,057,080.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 76,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,220,011.38. The trade was a 54.51 % 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 owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on MNST. UBS Group increased their price objective on Monster Beverage from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $59.00 price target on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.83.

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.