UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Has $348,000 Stock Position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp lifted its stake in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 71.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,967 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,904 shares during the period. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $348,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Monster Beverage by 1.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,741,352 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,837,867,000 after acquiring an additional 1,059,042 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 11,659,619 shares of the company’s stock worth $691,182,000 after purchasing an additional 37,391 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 11,209,122 shares of the company’s stock worth $664,469,000 after purchasing an additional 440,962 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 40.6% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter valued at about $517,035,000. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In related news, CEO Hilton H. Schlosberg sold 42,144 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.00, for a total transaction 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 $99,404,574. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Hilton H. Schlosberg sold 42,144 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.00, for a total transaction of $2,233,632.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,875,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $99,404,574. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 15,077 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 68,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,534,458.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 7.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Shares of Monster Beverage stock opened at $48.65 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $48.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $52.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 2.69 and a current ratio of 3.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.60, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.76. Monster Beverage Co. has a 52 week low of $43.32 and a 52 week high of $61.22.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.04). Monster Beverage had a net margin of 22.84% and a return on equity of 22.23%. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.39 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.66 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Roth Mkm dropped their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $56.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Monster Beverage from $56.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Monster Beverage from $61.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Monster Beverage from $63.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Monster Beverage from $59.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.85.

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.