Park Avenue Securities LLC Increases Stock Position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,470 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 486 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $971,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its holdings in Monster Beverage by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 6,991 shares of the company’s stock worth $367,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Monster Beverage by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC now owns 17,821 shares of the company’s stock worth $930,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Monster Beverage by 20.6% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in Monster Beverage by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 39,187 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,045,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. raised its holdings in Monster Beverage by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 14,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $764,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MNST shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC started coverage on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Friday, December 6th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Monster Beverage currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Monster Beverage news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.65, for a total value of $526,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 74,924 shares in the company, valued at $3,944,748.60. The trade was a 11.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 7.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Monster Beverage Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Monster Beverage stock opened at $49.42 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $48.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a current ratio of 3.13. The company has a fifty day moving average of $52.80 and a 200 day moving average of $51.27. Monster Beverage Co. has a fifty-two week low of $43.32 and a fifty-two week high of $61.22.

Monster Beverage 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.