Blue Trust Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 72.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,198 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,020 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $360,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MNST. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Stephens Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage in the second quarter worth $26,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new stake in Monster Beverage in the second quarter valued at $30,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in Monster Beverage during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in Monster Beverage in the 1st quarter worth $37,000. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MNST shares. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Monster Beverage from $61.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Monster Beverage from $59.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. UBS Group upped their price target on Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Monster Beverage from $56.00 to $54.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Monster Beverage has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.68.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MNST opened at $53.56 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 2.69 and a current ratio of 3.41. The firm has a market cap of $55.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.74. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.09. Monster Beverage Co. has a fifty-two week low of $43.32 and a fifty-two week high of $61.22.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.04). Monster Beverage had a net margin of 22.84% and a return on equity of 22.23%. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.39 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current 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.