Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) Shares Purchased by WCM Investment Management LLC

WCM Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 8.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 90,554 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,187 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $5,200,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MNST. Cibc World Market Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 3.3% during the first quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 6,759 shares of the company’s stock valued at $540,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 2.6% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,097,590 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,699,000 after purchasing an additional 27,858 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its stake in Monster Beverage by 7.5% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 2,537 shares of the company’s stock valued at $203,000 after buying an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in Monster Beverage by 76.1% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 37,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,997,000 after acquiring an additional 16,206 shares during the period. Finally, Aviva PLC grew its holdings in Monster Beverage by 91.4% during the first quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 114,297 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,132,000 after acquiring an additional 54,586 shares during the period. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 659,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.55, for a total transaction of $38,584,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 777,840 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,542,532. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 9.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 26th. HSBC lowered their target price on Monster Beverage from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Monster Beverage from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.11.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

NASDAQ:MNST opened at $55.01 on Monday. Monster Beverage Co. has a fifty-two week low of $47.13 and a fifty-two week high of $61.22. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $57.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.49. The stock has a market cap of $57.25 billion, a PE ratio of 35.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.72.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.38. The business had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.76 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 20.95% and a net margin of 22.84%. The firm’s revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.28 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.81 earnings per share for the current year.

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.