Bridgewater Associates LP Sells 261,577 Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Bridgewater Associates LP cut its stake in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 48.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 279,769 shares of the company's stock after selling 261,577 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP's holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $14,705,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter worth $442,642,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in Monster Beverage by 659.1% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 4,872,972 shares of the company's stock worth $251,445,000 after purchasing an additional 4,231,063 shares in the last quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. grew its position in Monster Beverage by 250.9% during the 4th quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 3,468,660 shares of the company's stock valued at $178,801,000 after purchasing an additional 2,480,291 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter valued at about $106,882,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Monster Beverage by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,112,000 shares of the company's stock worth $897,012,000 after buying an additional 1,383,914 shares during the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In other news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the company'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 transaction of $552,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 72,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,994,528.71. This represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Mark J. Hall sold 48,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.89, for a total value of $2,634,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 296,846 shares in the company, valued at $16,293,876.94. This trade represents a 13.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 208,316 shares of company stock worth $11,484,440. Company insiders own 7.80% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MNST shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $57.33.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

Monster Beverage stock traded up $0.46 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $58.41. 7,138,324 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,099,589. Monster Beverage Co. has a 12-month low of $43.32 and a 12-month high of $60.34. The company has a market cap of $56.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.44, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $55.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $53.14. 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 - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 23.31% and a net margin of 21.66%. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.80 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current year.

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.