iA Global Asset Management Inc. Grows Stake in Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST

iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 172,176 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,795 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $11,589,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MNST. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Monster Beverage by 0.9% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 65,360,899 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,094,207,000 after purchasing an additional 574,275 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 2.6% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 34,929,818 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,188,004,000 after purchasing an additional 900,479 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its position in Monster Beverage by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 26,450,305 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,656,847,000 after buying an additional 385,692 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 4.1% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,680,424 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,165,292,000 after buying an additional 742,518 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 20.0% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,983,411 shares of the company’s stock valued at $688,001,000 after purchasing an additional 1,829,064 shares in the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Monster Beverage Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:MNST opened at $80.89 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $75.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.46. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 1-year low of $45.70 and a 1-year high of $81.81.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.08. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 27.76% and a net margin of 21.65%.The business had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.41 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on MNST shares. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $73.00 target price (up from $53.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $86.00 price target (up from $83.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Monday, January 5th. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Monster Beverage from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $77.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 target price (up from $87.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Monster Beverage presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $76.62.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Rodney C. Sacks sold 206,543 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total transaction of $15,197,433.94. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.31, for a total transaction of $2,199,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 63,939 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,687,368.09. This represents a 31.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 274,981 shares of company stock worth $20,138,516. 8.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Monster Beverage

Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ: MNST) is an American beverage company best known for its Monster Energy brand of energy drinks. The company’s product portfolio centers on carbonated energy beverages and a range of complementary ready-to-drink offerings, including energy coffees, hydration beverages and other flavored functional drinks. Monster markets multiple sub-brands and flavor variants to address different consumer segments and consumption occasions.

Originally organized around the Hansen’s Natural line of juices and sodas, the company pivoted toward the energy drink category and formally adopted the Monster Beverage name in the early 2010s to reflect its strategic focus.