Korea Investment CORP Sells 154,469 Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Korea Investment CORP reduced its position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 36.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 272,593 shares of the company's stock after selling 154,469 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP's holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $14,327,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 109.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 11,779,162 shares during the last quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 250.9% in the fourth quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 3,468,660 shares of the company's stock worth $178,801,000 after buying an additional 2,480,291 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,742,390 shares of the company's stock worth $1,760,341,000 after acquiring an additional 2,168,379 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter valued at about $106,882,000. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $73,600,000. 72.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Two 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, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $56.11.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MNST traded down $2.57 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $57.08. The stock had a trading volume of 10,386,288 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,010,486. The company has a market cap of $55.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.59, a PEG 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 $61.66. The business's fifty day moving average is $53.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 3.13 and a quick ratio of 2.51.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Monster Beverage news, insider Guy Carling sold 47,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.02, for a total transaction of $2,585,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,993 shares in the company, valued at $1,210,054.86. This represents a 68.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total transaction of $5,057,080.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 76,201 shares in the company, valued at $4,220,011.38. This represents a 54.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 208,316 shares of company stock valued at $11,484,440 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 7.80% of the company's stock.

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.