Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Purchases 186,568 Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 36.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 701,318 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 186,568 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $36,845,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mather Group LLC. raised its holdings in Monster Beverage by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 6,931 shares of the company’s stock worth $364,000 after purchasing an additional 491 shares in the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. raised its holdings in Monster Beverage by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 9,490 shares of the company’s stock worth $499,000 after purchasing an additional 1,434 shares in the last quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter worth about $423,000. Leisure Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter worth about $1,176,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Monster Beverage Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of MNST stock opened at $46.61 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 3.13 and a quick ratio of 2.51. The company has a market cap of $45.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.88, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $51.17. Monster Beverage Co. has a 1-year low of $43.32 and a 1-year high of $61.22.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Monster Beverage from $61.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Monster Beverage from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Argus boosted their price target on Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. BNP Paribas dropped their price target on Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.42.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In other news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,944,748.60. This represents a 11.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

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.