Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) Shares Sold by Montag & Caldwell LLC

Montag & Caldwell LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 7.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 186,306 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,637 shares during the quarter. Monster Beverage accounts for about 2.1% of Montag & Caldwell LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Montag & Caldwell LLC’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $9,792,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MNST. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan bought a new stake in Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter valued at about $491,000. XTX Topco Ltd lifted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 101.0% in the 4th quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 26,598 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,398,000 after buying an additional 13,366 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its stake in Monster Beverage by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 11,838 shares of the company’s stock worth $622,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the period. Mariner LLC lifted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 141,646 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,445,000 after acquiring an additional 5,409 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 40,014 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,103,000 after purchasing an additional 1,070 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Shares of Monster Beverage stock opened at $58.58 on Tuesday. Monster Beverage Co. has a 12 month low of $43.32 and a 12 month high of $60.34. The company has a quick ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 3.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market cap of $57.01 billion, a PE ratio of 37.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.97.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.02). Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 23.31% and a net margin of 21.66%. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on MNST. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Monster Beverage from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, BNP Paribas lowered their price target on Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Monster Beverage news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total value of $5,057,080.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 76,201 shares in the company, valued at $4,220,011.38. The trade was a 54.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.27, for a total transaction of $552,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 72,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,994,528.71. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 208,316 shares of company stock worth $11,484,440. Corporate insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

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.