Huntington National Bank Boosts Position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Huntington National Bank raised its stake in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 756.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,664 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,419 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $560,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. grew its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 62.5% in the 4th quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

Monster Beverage stock opened at $57.08 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. Monster Beverage Co. has a one year low of $43.32 and a one year high of $60.34. The company has a market cap of $55.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a fifty day moving average of $53.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $52.67.

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

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In other news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 48,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.89, for a total value of $2,634,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 296,846 shares in the company, valued at $16,293,876.94. This trade represents a 13.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 value of $5,057,080.08. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 76,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,220,011.38. This trade represents a 54.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 208,316 shares of company stock valued at $11,484,440 in the last quarter. 7.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on MNST shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. BNP Paribas lowered their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $59.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.11.

Monster Beverage 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.