Van ECK Associates Corp Has $6.70 Million Stake in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 8.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 116,297 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,201 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $6,700,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Delta Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Monster Beverage by 0.9% during the third quarter. Delta Financial Advisors LLC now owns 19,168 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,015,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 3,659 shares of the company’s stock worth $211,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Monster Beverage by 34.6% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 774 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 7,761 shares of the company’s stock valued at $447,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mainsail Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 1.2% in the third quarter. Mainsail Financial Group LLC now owns 18,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $955,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on MNST. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Monster Beverage from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $66.00 to $59.00 in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, HSBC decreased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.32.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 3.0 %

Monster Beverage stock opened at $55.00 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $57.29 billion, a PE ratio of 35.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $56.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $55.73. Monster Beverage Co. has a 12 month low of $47.13 and a 12 month high of $61.22.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 20.95% and a net margin of 22.84%. The company’s revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.38 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.