Montag & Caldwell LLC Trims Stock Position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Montag & Caldwell LLC lowered its holdings in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 35.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 313,839 shares of the company’s stock after selling 173,737 shares during the period. Monster Beverage makes up 3.2% of Montag & Caldwell LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Montag & Caldwell LLC’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $18,080,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of MNST. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 19,210 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,017,000 after purchasing an additional 1,482 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its position in Monster Beverage by 112.2% in the third quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 195,272 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,339,000 after acquiring an additional 103,271 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter worth about $7,340,000. Defender Capital LLC. lifted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 30.2% in the 4th quarter. Defender Capital LLC. now owns 371,077 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,378,000 after purchasing an additional 86,050 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 10,268 shares of the company’s stock worth $590,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Stock Up 0.9 %

MNST stock traded up $0.49 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $53.86. The company had a trading volume of 1,085,518 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,335,679. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.72. Monster Beverage Co. has a one year low of $47.13 and a one year high of $61.22. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $56.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $55.68.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38. The business had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.76 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 20.95% and a net margin of 22.84%. Monster Beverage’s quarterly revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.28 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 9.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on MNST shares. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 26th. HSBC reduced their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Monster Beverage from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $66.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.68.

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.