Banco Santander S.A. Boosts Stock Position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Banco Santander S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 216,891 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,122 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $11,400,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at $1,214,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 154,125 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,101,000 after buying an additional 7,780 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 251,570 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,124,000 after buying an additional 15,611 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 6.7% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 151,364 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,897,000 after acquiring an additional 9,496 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Miracle Mile Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter worth approximately $7,090,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Shares of MNST stock opened at $55.07 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a current ratio of 3.13. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $50.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.44. Monster Beverage Co. has a one year low of $43.32 and a one year high of $61.22. The firm has a market cap of $53.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.74.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.02). Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 23.31% and a net margin of 21.66%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Monster Beverage news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.65, for a total transaction of $526,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 74,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,944,748.60. This trade represents a 11.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total transaction of $5,057,080.08. Following the sale, the insider now owns 76,201 shares in the company, valued at $4,220,011.38. This represents a 54.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 7.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Monster Beverage from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.83.

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.