Hartford Funds Management Co LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Hartford Funds Management Co LLC boosted its stake in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 6.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,548 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 389 shares during the period. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $377,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MNST. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new position in Monster Beverage in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Headinvest LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 34.6% in the third quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 774 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $53,000. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In related news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 659,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $45,542,532. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 9.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. HSBC lowered their price target on Monster Beverage from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.68.

Monster Beverage Trading Down 1.3 %

MNST stock traded down $0.68 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $53.45. The stock had a trading volume of 5,652,608 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,377,775. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.48, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.72. Monster Beverage Co. has a 1-year low of $47.13 and a 1-year high of $61.22. The company has a fifty day moving average of $56.91 and a 200 day moving average of $55.77.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.38. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 20.95% and a net margin of 22.84%. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.76 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.28 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.