Plato Investment Management Ltd Acquires 29,058 Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Plato Investment Management Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 1,650.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 30,819 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 29,058 shares during the quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $1,827,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MNST. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $517,035,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position 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 worth $603,659,000 after acquiring an additional 3,026,657 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 143.8% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 3,209,873 shares of the company’s stock worth $184,921,000 after buying an additional 1,893,064 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 34.1% during the first quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 4,859,680 shares of the company’s stock worth $288,082,000 after purchasing an additional 1,234,718 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Monster Beverage by 1.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,741,352 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,837,867,000 after acquiring an additional 1,059,042 shares during the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MNST. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $65.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Roth Mkm reduced their price target on Monster Beverage from $59.00 to $56.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $66.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $59.33.

Monster Beverage Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of Monster Beverage stock traded down $0.07 during trading on Thursday, reaching $51.38. 4,631,163 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,299,868. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $50.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $54.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.76. Monster Beverage Co. has a twelve month low of $47.13 and a twelve month high of $61.22.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.01). The business 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%. Monster Beverage’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.38 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Monster Beverage news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 250,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.22, for a total transaction of $13,055,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 532,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,820,413.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 250,000 shares of Monster Beverage 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 sale, the director now directly owns 532,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,820,413.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 15,077 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the director now owns 68,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,534,458.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 307,221 shares of company stock valued at $16,070,374. 7.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.