Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) Shares Sold by Wealth Alliance

Wealth Alliance trimmed its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 13.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,029 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,706 shares during the period. Wealth Alliance’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $635,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MNST. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 98.4% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 34,001,871 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,836,434,000 after purchasing an additional 16,863,544 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 1.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,005,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,397,411,000 after purchasing an additional 504,239 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 20.3% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 19,515,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,033,323,000 after purchasing an additional 3,296,466 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Monster Beverage by 103.0% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,361,510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $773,729,000 after acquiring an additional 7,287,123 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in Monster Beverage by 10.0% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 10,071,948 shares of the company’s stock valued at $804,749,000 after acquiring an additional 912,942 shares in the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on MNST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.11.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 659,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.55, for a total value of $38,584,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 777,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,542,532. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 9.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MNST opened at $54.25 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $57.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.50. Monster Beverage Co. has a 52 week low of $47.13 and a 52 week high of $61.22. The company has a market capitalization of $56.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.72.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.38. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 20.95% and a net margin of 22.84%. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.28 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.