Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) Shares Sold by Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co

Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co reduced its holdings in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 75,083 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,102 shares during the quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $3,946,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MNST. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 62.5% during the 4th quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 528 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Monster Beverage by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 13,578 shares of the company’s stock worth $714,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 6,991 shares of the company’s stock valued at $367,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 46,082 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,422,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PDS Planning Inc grew its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 4,340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the period. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In other news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total value of $5,057,080.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 76,201 shares in the company, valued at $4,220,011.38. This trade represents a 54.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.27, for a total value of $552,700.00. Following 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. Insiders have sold a total of 208,316 shares of company stock worth $11,484,440 over the last ninety days. 7.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MNST. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Monster Beverage has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.83.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

MNST opened at $57.86 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.13, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The business’s 50 day moving average is $52.19 and its 200-day moving average is $52.38. The stock has a market cap of $56.31 billion, a PE ratio of 37.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.71. Monster Beverage Co. has a twelve month low of $43.32 and a twelve month high of $59.56.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. On average, analysts predict that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current 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.