Aviva PLC Increases Stock Holdings in Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST

Aviva PLC grew its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) by 4,106.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,144,730 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,117,515 shares during the quarter. Aviva PLC’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $71,706,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MNST. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage during the first quarter valued at approximately $497,157,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the 2nd quarter worth $157,063,000. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 54.7% during the 1st quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 5,366,126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $303,728,000 after acquiring an additional 1,897,466 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 34.6% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 7,278,206 shares of the company’s stock worth $425,921,000 after purchasing an additional 1,872,075 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 39,281.2% in the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,379,522 shares of the company’s stock worth $86,413,000 after purchasing an additional 1,376,019 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America lifted their target price on Monster Beverage from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $79.00 price target (up from $76.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Monster Beverage presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.41.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 5.2%

NASDAQ MNST opened at $69.73 on Friday. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 12 month low of $45.70 and a 12 month high of $72.62. The stock has a market cap of $68.09 billion, a PE ratio of 43.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.53. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $66.59 and its 200 day moving average is $63.47.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.08. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 20.54% and a return on equity of 27.46%. The firm had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.41 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Monster Beverage news, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 10,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.73, for a total value of $637,300.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 51,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,262,402.43. The trade was a 16.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 8.30% of the company’s stock.

About Monster Beverage

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.