Howard Capital Management Inc. Has $811,000 Stake in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Howard Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,425 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 523 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $811,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 62.5% during the fourth quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Monster Beverage by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 13,578 shares of the company’s stock valued at $714,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its stake in Monster Beverage by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 6,991 shares of the company’s stock valued at $367,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Monster Beverage by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC now owns 17,821 shares of the company’s stock worth $930,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sapient Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 46,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,422,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

MNST has been the topic of several analyst reports. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Monster Beverage from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. BNP Paribas cut their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Friday, December 6th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $61.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Monster Beverage presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.53.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 3.5 %

Shares of Monster Beverage stock opened at $53.00 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $50.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.98. Monster Beverage Co. has a 52-week low of $43.32 and a 52-week high of $61.22.

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.