Axxcess Wealth Management LLC Raises Position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 8.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,619 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,218 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $1,706,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter valued at about $371,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 1,104.0% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 17,121 shares of the company’s stock valued at $987,000 after buying an additional 15,699 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 7,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $411,000 after buying an additional 998 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its stake in Monster Beverage by 26.9% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 21,560 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,242,000 after buying an additional 4,566 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Financial LLC raised its holdings in Monster Beverage by 39.2% during the 4th quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 5,779 shares of the company’s stock valued at $333,000 after acquiring an additional 1,628 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

MNST stock opened at $55.00 on Monday. Monster Beverage Co. has a fifty-two week low of $47.13 and a fifty-two week high of $61.22. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $56.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.86. The company has a market capitalization of $57.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.74.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.01). Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 22.83%. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.38 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” 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 for the company in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Monster Beverage from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Citigroup boosted their target price on Monster Beverage from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on Monster Beverage from $61.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.32.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 659,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.55, for a total value of $38,584,450.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 777,840 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,542,532. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 9.40% of the company’s stock.

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.