United Asset Strategies Inc. Buys 3,954 Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

United Asset Strategies Inc. lifted its stake in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 128,443 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,954 shares during the quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $7,400,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SVB Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 21.0% in the 4th quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 89,815 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,174,000 after acquiring an additional 15,598 shares in the last quarter. Keel Point LLC increased its position in Monster Beverage by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Keel Point LLC now owns 4,147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $239,000 after buying an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Invesco LLC increased its position in Monster Beverage by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 34,157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,968,000 after buying an additional 737 shares in the last quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC acquired a new position in Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter valued at about $214,000. Finally, Waldron Private Wealth LLC increased its position in Monster Beverage by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 15,356 shares of the company’s stock valued at $884,000 after buying an additional 423 shares in the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

In other Monster Beverage news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 659,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.55, for a total transaction of $38,584,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 777,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,542,532. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 9.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Monster Beverage from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Citigroup upped their target price on Monster Beverage from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Monster Beverage from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.11.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

MNST stock traded up $0.39 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $54.50. 1,797,438 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,235,633. The company has a market cap of $56.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.72. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $57.38 and its 200 day moving average is $55.50. Monster Beverage Co. has a 12-month low of $47.13 and a 12-month high of $61.22.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.76 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 20.95% and a net margin of 22.84%. Monster Beverage’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.28 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.