Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) Shares Sold by LGT Group Foundation

LGT Group Foundation cut its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 234,283 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,488 shares during the period. LGT Group Foundation’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $13,453,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MNST. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Monster Beverage by 20.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 19,515,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,033,323,000 after buying an additional 3,296,466 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Monster Beverage by 61.5% in the 3rd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 3,431,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $181,713,000 after buying an additional 1,307,482 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Monster Beverage by 33.5% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,782,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $200,261,000 after buying an additional 948,133 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Monster Beverage by 32.2% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,823,265 shares of the company’s stock valued at $149,492,000 after buying an additional 686,889 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV lifted its stake in Monster Beverage by 78.2% in the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 1,230,778 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,170,000 after buying an additional 540,285 shares in the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 0.3 %

Monster Beverage stock traded up $0.14 during trading on Thursday, hitting $53.68. The company had a trading volume of 1,248,917 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,349,721. Monster Beverage Co. has a 1-year low of $47.13 and a 1-year high of $61.22. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $56.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.75. The stock has a market cap of $55.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.74.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.38. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.76 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 22.84% and a return on equity of 20.95%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.28 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on MNST. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Monster Beverage from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $66.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $65.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.68.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Monster Beverage news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 659,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.55, for a total value of $38,584,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 777,840 shares in the company, valued at $45,542,532. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 9.40% 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.