21,241 Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST Shares Purchased by Howard Capital Management LLC

Howard Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) by 99.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 42,574 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,241 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $1,772,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MNST. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Monster Beverage in the second quarter worth approximately $5,770,004,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage during the second quarter worth $1,195,360,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 27.8% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,465,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $717,629,000 after buying an additional 1,624,416 shares during the period. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new stake in Monster Beverage during the 2nd quarter valued at $593,075,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in Monster Beverage by 23.7% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 7,637,514 shares of the company’s stock valued at $553,414,000 after acquiring an additional 1,461,167 shares in the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

NASDAQ:MNST opened at $45.73 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $89.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $44.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $44.10. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 1-year low of $32.94 and a 1-year high of $50.17.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.02. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 26.02% and a net margin of 23.08%. The company had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.26 EPS. Monster Beverage’s quarterly revenue was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on MNST. Evercore reduced their price target on Monster Beverage from $95.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Monster Beverage from $106.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings raised Monster Beverage from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Monster Beverage from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Monster Beverage from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.07.

About Monster Beverage

Monster Beverage Corporation is a global beverage company focused primarily on the development, marketing, sale and distribution of energy drinks. Its portfolio includes the flagship Monster Energy brand, along with products marketed under brands such as NOS, Full Throttle, Reign, Burn and Mother. The company offers a range of energy drinks in different flavors and formulations, including products positioned for performance, fitness and everyday consumption.

The company traces its origins to Hansen Natural Corporation, which was founded in 1935 and changed its name to Monster Beverage Corporation in 2012 as the Monster Energy brand became increasingly central to its business.