Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST Shares Purchased by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) by 148.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,390,298 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,623,419 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $182,743,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Monster Beverage in the second quarter worth approximately $5,770,004,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage in the second quarter valued at $1,195,360,000. Ninety One UK Ltd raised its position in Monster Beverage by 89.1% in the third quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 13,105,329 shares of the company’s stock valued at $545,444,000 after purchasing an additional 6,175,047 shares during the period. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage in the second quarter valued at $593,075,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the 2nd quarter valued at $478,694,000. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Monster Beverage Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ MNST opened at $45.57 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $89.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.24, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.51. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 52-week low of $35.03 and a 52-week high of $50.17. The business’s 50 day moving average is $44.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.39.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 24.99% and a net margin of 22.66%. The company had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.56 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MNST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Monster Beverage from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $50.00 target price (up from $49.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Friday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $100.00 target price (up from $98.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.07.

Monster Beverage Company Profile

Monster Beverage Corporation develops, markets and sells energy drinks and other beverages. Its portfolio includes Monster Energy, Reign, NOS and Full Throttle, along with products in categories such as sports drinks, juices and alcoholic beverages. The company traces its roots to Hansen’s, a beverage business established in the 1930s. It introduced the Monster Energy brand in 2002 and adopted the Monster Beverage name in 2012. Based in Corona, California, Monster sells its products in the United States and internationally.