Prudential PLC Acquires 136,518 Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Prudential PLC boosted its holdings in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 1,410.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 146,199 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 136,518 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $7,303,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MNST. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the first quarter valued at $26,000. Stephens Consulting LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 360.0% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 396 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in Monster Beverage in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

NASDAQ:MNST opened at $50.74 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $49.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.74. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $48.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $52.59. Monster Beverage Co. has a one year low of $43.32 and a one year high of $61.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 3.41 and a quick ratio of 2.69.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MNST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 15th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $40.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Monster Beverage from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Monster Beverage from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.85.

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.