Bank of Montreal Can Sells 377,593 Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Bank of Montreal Can decreased its position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 27.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,022,903 shares of the company's stock after selling 377,593 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned about 0.11% of Monster Beverage worth $53,764,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MNST. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter valued at $1,214,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 5.3% in 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 during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Monster Beverage by 6.6% during the third 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 position in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,090,000. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $630,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on MNST shares. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. BNP Paribas reduced their price target on Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $56.44.

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Monster Beverage Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MNST traded down $0.20 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $58.38. The stock had a trading volume of 749,823 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,088,135. The company has a quick ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 3.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market capitalization of $56.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.64. Monster Beverage Co. has a fifty-two week low of $43.32 and a fifty-two week high of $60.34. The company's 50-day moving average price is $54.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.97.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 23.31%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In other Monster Beverage news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total value of $5,057,080.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 76,201 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,220,011.38. This represents a 54.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Guy Carling sold 47,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.02, for a total value of $2,585,940.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 21,993 shares in the company, valued at $1,210,054.86. The trade was a 68.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 208,316 shares of company stock worth $11,484,440. Corporate insiders own 7.80% 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.