Intact Investment Management Inc. Purchases 7,360 Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Intact Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 77.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,802 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 7,360 shares during the quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $883,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth about $1,214,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 7,780 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 15,611 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 6.7% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Miracle Mile Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter worth about $7,090,000. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

In other news, insider Guy Carling sold 47,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.02, for a total value of $2,585,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,210,054.86. This trade represents a 68.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 directly owns 296,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,293,876.94. The trade was a 13.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 186,316 shares of company stock valued at $10,277,740. Company insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Shares of MNST opened at $55.09 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.13, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market capitalization of $53.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.31, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.71. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $50.80 and a 200 day moving average of $51.76. Monster Beverage Co. has a 12 month low of $43.32 and a 12 month high of $61.21.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.02). Monster Beverage had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 23.31%. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MNST. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $59.00 price objective on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.83.

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.