Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd Sells 414 Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd lowered its stake in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 24,524 shares of the company’s stock after selling 414 shares during the period. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $1,413,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MNST. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 3,659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Monster Beverage by 34.6% during the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 774 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 7,761 shares of the company’s stock valued at $447,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 5,908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $340,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 43,716 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,315,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

MNST traded up $0.32 on Friday, hitting $52.96. The company had a trading volume of 251,624 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,578,215. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $55.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $56.10. Monster Beverage Co. has a 12-month low of $47.13 and a 12-month high of $61.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.74.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.01). Monster Beverage had a net margin of 22.83% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.38 EPS. Monster Beverage’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MNST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Monster Beverage from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Monster Beverage from $65.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Monster Beverage from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.32.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

In other Monster Beverage news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 659,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 777,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,542,532. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 7.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.