Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Boosts Stock Position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 43.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,856 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 12,759 shares during the quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $2,200,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its holdings in Monster Beverage by 62.5% in the fourth quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 13,578 shares of the company’s stock valued at $714,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 6,991 shares of the company’s stock worth $367,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC grew its stake in Monster Beverage by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 46,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,422,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PDS Planning Inc grew its stake in Monster Beverage by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 4,340 shares of the company’s stock worth $228,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group increased their target price on Monster Beverage from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Citigroup raised their price objective on Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. BNP Paribas lowered 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. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $59.00 price objective on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

In related news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was 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 owns 76,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,220,011.38. This trade represents a 54.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Guy Carling sold 47,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.02, for a total transaction of $2,585,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 21,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,210,054.86. This trade represents a 68.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 208,316 shares of company stock valued at $11,484,440. 7.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Monster Beverage Stock Up 0.9 %

Monster Beverage stock opened at $59.04 on Wednesday. Monster Beverage Co. has a 52 week low of $43.32 and a 52 week high of $59.07. The stock has a market cap of $57.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.85, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.71. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $52.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $52.53. The company has a current ratio of 3.13, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.02). Monster Beverage had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 23.31%. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. On average, analysts expect that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 EPS 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.