Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST Stock Holdings Lowered by First National Trust Co

First National Trust Co cut its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,621 shares of the company’s stock after selling 252 shares during the period. First National Trust Co’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $227,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the first quarter valued at $29,000. Webster Bank N. A. acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its stake in Monster Beverage by 37.1% in the 1st quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 724 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage during the 1st quarter worth about $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.73, for a total transaction of $637,300.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 51,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,262,402.43. This trade represents a 16.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 8.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on MNST shares. Rothschild & Co Redburn cut shares of Monster Beverage from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $60.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Monster Beverage from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $66.43.

Monster Beverage Trading Down 4.0%

MNST opened at $66.56 on Thursday. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 1 year low of $45.70 and a 1 year high of $70.72. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $65.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.04. The stock has a market cap of $64.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.34, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.54.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 27.46% and a net margin of 20.54%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.41 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Monster Beverage Company 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.