First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Acquires 732 Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its holdings in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 2.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,479 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 732 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $1,381,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MNST. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Stephens Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the first quarter valued at about $37,000. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on MNST shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $56.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 15th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $56.00 to $54.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Monster Beverage presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.68.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

MNST stock opened at $52.68 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $50.87 and a 200-day moving average of $51.02. The company has a current ratio of 3.41, a quick ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Monster Beverage Co. has a 12 month low of $43.32 and a 12 month high of $61.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.74.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.04). Monster Beverage had a net margin of 22.84% and a return on equity of 22.23%. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.39 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.