Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) Director Mark J. Hall Sells 12,000 Shares

Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) Director Mark J. Hall sold 12,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.50, for a total value of $654,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 296,846 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,178,107. The trade was a 3.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

MNST stock traded up $0.44 during trading on Friday, reaching $57.31. 7,642,762 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,696,307. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a current ratio of 3.13. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $51.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.99. Monster Beverage Co. has a 52-week low of $43.32 and a 52-week high of $60.55. The company has a market cap of $55.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.74, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.71.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.80 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Friday, February 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. BNP Paribas decreased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Monster Beverage from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Monster Beverage currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $55.83.

Institutional Trading of Monster Beverage

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MNST. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in Monster Beverage by 109.3% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 22,559,092 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,176,913,000 after acquiring an additional 11,779,162 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth approximately $442,642,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 659.1% during 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 during the last quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. lifted its stake in Monster Beverage by 250.9% in the 4th quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 3,468,660 shares of the company's stock valued at $178,801,000 after buying an additional 2,480,291 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter valued at $121,575,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company's stock.

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.