Alliancebernstein L.P. Sells 8,739,567 Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Alliancebernstein L.P. decreased its holdings in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 17.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 40,331,809 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,739,567 shares during the quarter. Monster Beverage accounts for approximately 0.7% of Alliancebernstein L.P.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 4.15% of Monster Beverage worth $2,119,840,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 62.5% in the fourth quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MNST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $59.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, BNP Paribas decreased their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Monster Beverage has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.83.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In other Monster Beverage news, insider Guy Carling sold 47,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.02, for a total value of $2,585,940.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,993 shares in the company, valued at $1,210,054.86. This represents a 68.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.27, for a total value of $552,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 72,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,994,528.71. The trade was a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 208,316 shares of company stock valued at $11,484,440. 7.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Monster Beverage Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ MNST opened at $57.86 on Monday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.41. Monster Beverage Co. has a 52 week low of $43.32 and a 52 week high of $59.56. The company has a market cap of $56.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a quick ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 3.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.02). Monster Beverage had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 23.31%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 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.