Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations Invests $3.75 Million in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 71,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,754,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its position in Monster Beverage by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 13,578 shares of the company’s stock valued at $714,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the period. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its position in Monster Beverage by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 6,991 shares of the company’s stock worth $367,000 after buying an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 46,082 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,422,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PDS Planning Inc boosted its stake in Monster Beverage by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 4,340 shares of the company’s stock worth $228,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In other news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 76,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,220,011.38. This represents a 54.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 72,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,994,528.71. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 208,316 shares of company stock valued at $11,484,440. Corporate insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MNST opened at $57.76 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $56.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.71. Monster Beverage Co. has a 12 month low of $43.32 and a 12 month high of $60.13. The business’s 50 day moving average is $51.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.28. The company has a quick ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 3.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.02). Monster Beverage had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 23.31%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

Monster Beverage Company Profile

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.