Empirical Finance LLC Has $1.61 Million Stock Position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Empirical Finance LLC boosted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 3.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 27,202 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 895 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $1,613,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 3,659 shares of the company’s stock worth $211,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 7,761 shares of the company’s stock worth $447,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co grew its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 5,908 shares of the company’s stock worth $340,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 13,307 shares of the company’s stock worth $789,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Savant Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 5,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $300,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In related news, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 15,077 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.85, for a total value of $781,742.45. Following the completion of 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 15,077 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.85, for a total value of $781,742.45. Following the completion of 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Hilton H. Schlosberg sold 42,144 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.00, for a total value of $2,233,632.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,875,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,404,574. 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 quarter. 7.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

MNST opened at $50.83 on Friday. Monster Beverage Co. has a fifty-two week low of $47.13 and a fifty-two week high of $61.22. The company has a market capitalization of $52.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $51.46 and a 200-day moving average of $54.90.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 22.83% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.38 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MNST has been the subject of several research reports. Roth Mkm decreased their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $59.00 to $56.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $63.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 17th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $58.00 to $56.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $69.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $64.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Monday, July 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.70.

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.