Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc lessened its holdings in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 16.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,943,992 shares of the company's stock after selling 970,789 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.51% of Monster Beverage worth $259,856,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. grew its position in Monster Beverage by 62.5% during the fourth quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 528 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In related news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 48,000 shares of the business's 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 transaction, 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 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 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 208,316 shares of company stock worth $11,484,440. 7.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MNST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research 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 company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Citigroup lifted 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. Finally, BNP Paribas lowered their target price on Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Two equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $56.44.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 0.2 %

MNST traded up $0.12 on Monday, reaching $58.27. 879,853 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,099,185. The company has a market cap of $56.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.35, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a current ratio of 3.13. Monster Beverage Co. has a twelve month low of $43.32 and a twelve month high of $60.34. The company's 50 day moving average is $54.38 and its 200-day moving average is $52.93.

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

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.