GAMMA Investing LLC Makes New $470,000 Investment in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 8,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $470,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 20.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 19,515,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,033,323,000 after purchasing an additional 3,296,466 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 3.3% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,638,653 shares of the company’s stock valued at $404,467,000 after acquiring an additional 243,401 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 6.2% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,211,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $278,238,000 after acquiring an additional 305,086 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 33.5% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,782,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $200,261,000 after acquiring an additional 948,133 shares during the period. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 61.5% during the third quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 3,431,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $181,713,000 after acquiring an additional 1,307,482 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

NASDAQ MNST traded up $1.00 on Wednesday, hitting $54.73. 3,393,462 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,331,458. Monster Beverage Co. has a twelve month low of $47.13 and a twelve month high of $61.22. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $57.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 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 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.38. The business had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.76 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 20.95% and a net margin of 22.84%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.28 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.81 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MNST shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 659,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 777,840 shares in the company, valued at $45,542,532. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 9.40% of the company’s stock.

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.