Jump Financial LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Jump Financial LLC lessened its stake in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 70.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,864 shares of the company's stock after selling 33,435 shares during the quarter. Jump Financial LLC's holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $729,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its holdings in Monster Beverage by 62.5% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In other news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 12,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.50, for a total transaction of $654,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 296,846 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,178,107. This trade represents a 3.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 Monster Beverage stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.27, for a total transaction of $552,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 72,273 shares in the company, valued at $3,994,528.71. The trade was a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 208,316 shares of company stock worth $11,484,440. Corporate insiders own 7.80% of the company's stock.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Shares of Monster Beverage stock opened at $59.28 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.64. 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 Co. has a 52 week low of $43.32 and a 52 week high of $60.34. The firm's 50 day moving average is $55.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.26.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.02). Monster Beverage had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 23.31%. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.80 billion. Research analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MNST. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $59.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $57.33.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.