Plato Investment Management Ltd Acquires 1,745 Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Plato Investment Management Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 5.7% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 32,564 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,745 shares during the quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $1,627,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MNST. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Monster Beverage by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,741,352 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,837,867,000 after acquiring an additional 1,059,042 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in Monster Beverage by 0.3% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 11,659,619 shares of the company’s stock valued at $691,182,000 after purchasing an additional 37,391 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Monster Beverage by 4.1% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 11,209,122 shares of the company’s stock valued at $664,469,000 after buying an additional 440,962 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in Monster Beverage by 40.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,478,380 shares of the company’s stock valued at $603,659,000 after buying an additional 3,026,657 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter worth about $517,035,000. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MNST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $56.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Monster Beverage from $61.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Monster Beverage in a report on Monday, June 24th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $48.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.85.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Shares of MNST opened at $50.83 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 3.41, a quick ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Monster Beverage Co. has a 12 month low of $43.32 and a 12 month high of $61.22. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $52.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.97, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.74.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.01 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 22.23% and a net margin of 22.84%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.39 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.66 EPS for the current fiscal 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.