Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Decreases Stake in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA decreased its holdings in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 560,049 shares of the company's stock after selling 18,714 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 0.06% of Monster Beverage worth $29,436,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter worth about $1,214,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 154,125 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,101,000 after acquiring an additional 7,780 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 251,570 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,124,000 after purchasing an additional 15,611 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,090,000. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $630,000. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

In related news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total value of $5,057,080.08. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 76,201 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,220,011.38. This trade represents a 54.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark J. Hall sold 48,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.89, for a total value of $2,634,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 296,846 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,293,876.94. The trade was a 13.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 208,316 shares of company stock valued at $11,484,440 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 7.80% of the company's stock.

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Monster Beverage Price Performance

NASDAQ MNST traded up $0.38 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $58.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,655,756 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,117,653. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.64. The company's 50-day moving average is $54.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.92. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $43.32 and a 1-year high of $60.34.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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). Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 23.31% and a net margin of 21.66%. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MNST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on 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. 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. Citigroup increased their price objective on Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, BNP Paribas decreased their target price on Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $56.11.

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.