Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) Shares Bought by QRG Capital Management Inc.

QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 68,427 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,632 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $3,418,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $517,035,000. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in Monster Beverage by 40.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,478,380 shares of the company’s stock valued at $603,659,000 after acquiring an additional 3,026,657 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 143.8% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 3,209,873 shares of the company’s stock valued at $184,921,000 after acquiring an additional 1,893,064 shares during the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the second quarter worth $81,757,000. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 34.1% during the first quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 4,859,680 shares of the company’s stock worth $288,082,000 after purchasing an additional 1,234,718 shares during the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MNST traded up $1.05 during trading on Friday, hitting $46.06. 14,618,892 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,446,106. Monster Beverage Co. has a 12-month low of $43.32 and a 12-month high of $61.22. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $50.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $53.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.98 billion, a PE ratio of 28.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.76.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.01 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 22.83% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.39 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $63.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 17th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $61.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Monster Beverage has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.19.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

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

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.