Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) Shares Sold by LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. lowered its holdings in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 88.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,517 shares of the company’s stock after selling 56,536 shares during the period. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $395,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MNST. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. grew its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Monster Beverage by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 13,578 shares of the company’s stock worth $714,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its holdings in Monster Beverage by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 6,991 shares of the company’s stock worth $367,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Monster Beverage by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC now owns 17,821 shares of the company’s stock worth $930,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sapient Capital LLC grew its holdings in Monster Beverage by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 46,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,422,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In other Monster Beverage news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.65, for a total value of $526,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 74,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,944,748.60. This trade represents a 11.78 % 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. 7.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

Monster Beverage stock opened at $55.17 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.74. Monster Beverage Co. has a 12-month low of $43.32 and a 12-month high of $61.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 3.13 and a quick ratio of 2.51. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $50.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.27.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 23.31% and a net margin of 21.66%. Equities analysts predict that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MNST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $59.00 price objective on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Argus upped their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.47.

Monster Beverage 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.