Board of the Pension Protection Fund Acquires Shares of 17,800 Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 17,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $936,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd boosted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 23,858 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,192,000 after buying an additional 532 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 12.5% during the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 81,568 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,074,000 after purchasing an additional 9,077 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Monster Beverage by 21.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,056,993 shares of the company’s stock valued at $102,760,000 after buying an additional 369,838 shares in the last quarter. Savoir Faire Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in Monster Beverage by 417.2% during the 2nd quarter. Savoir Faire Capital Management L.P. now owns 118,148 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,901,000 after buying an additional 95,303 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lmcg Investments LLC grew its holdings in Monster Beverage by 53.8% during the 2nd quarter. Lmcg Investments LLC now owns 160,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,997,000 after buying an additional 56,000 shares during the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.65, for a total transaction of $526,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,924 shares in the company, valued at $3,944,748.60. This trade represents a 11.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

Shares of MNST stock opened at $50.10 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $48.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.74. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $53.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 3.13 and a quick ratio of 2.51. Monster Beverage Co. has a 1-year low of $43.32 and a 1-year high of $61.22.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Monster Beverage from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Needham & Company LLC started coverage on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Friday, December 6th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Monster Beverage presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $56.30.

Monster Beverage 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.