First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Buys 3,726 Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its position in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 17.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 25,286 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,726 shares during the quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $1,499,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MNST. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Monster Beverage by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 63,682,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,668,738,000 after buying an additional 550,293 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Monster Beverage by 20.3% in the 3rd 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. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in Monster Beverage by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 11,622,228 shares of the company’s stock valued at $669,557,000 after purchasing an additional 330,740 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Monster Beverage by 40.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,478,380 shares of the company’s stock valued at $603,659,000 after purchasing an additional 3,026,657 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter worth about $517,035,000. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MNST shares. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $64.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Monster Beverage from $65.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Monster Beverage from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $66.00 to $59.00 in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, HSBC dropped their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 15,077 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.85, for a total transaction of $781,742.45. Following the transaction, the director now owns 68,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,534,458.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 15,077 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.85, for a total value of $781,742.45. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 68,167 shares in the company, valued at $3,534,458.95. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Mark J. Hall sold 250,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.22, for a total transaction of $13,055,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 532,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,820,413.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 307,221 shares of company stock valued at $16,070,374 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Stock Down 0.4 %

MNST traded down $0.18 during trading on Thursday, reaching $49.16. The company had a trading volume of 4,172,739 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,626,072. Monster Beverage Co. has a 52 week low of $47.13 and a 52 week high of $61.22. The stock has a market cap of $51.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.92, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.76. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.16.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 22.83%. Monster Beverage’s revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.38 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal 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.