SRS Capital Advisors Inc. Grows Position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 541.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,713 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,446 shares during the quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $90,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew its position in Monster Beverage by 6.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,742,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,760,341,000 after buying an additional 2,168,379 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 27,142,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,416,048,000 after acquiring an additional 1,229,789 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 109.3% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 22,559,092 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,176,913,000 after acquiring an additional 11,779,162 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,728,086 shares of the company’s stock valued at $817,490,000 after acquiring an additional 473,418 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 18.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,898,127 shares of the company’s stock valued at $203,365,000 after purchasing an additional 596,078 shares in the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on MNST. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $59.00 price target on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, BNP Paribas cut their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.83.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In related news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,944,748.60. This trade represents a 11.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total transaction of $5,057,080.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 76,201 shares in the company, valued at $4,220,011.38. The trade was a 54.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 7.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Monster Beverage Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of MNST opened at $55.69 on Friday. Monster Beverage Co. has a 52-week low of $43.32 and a 52-week high of $61.22. The company has a quick ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 3.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.39. The company has a market capitalization of $54.16 billion, a PE ratio of 35.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.74.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.02). Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 23.31% and a net margin of 21.66%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

Monster Beverage Company 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.