Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) Shares Sold by MML Investors Services LLC

MML Investors Services LLC lowered its stake in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 20.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 144,825 shares of the company's stock after selling 37,309 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC's holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $7,612,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co grew its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 10.4% during the third quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 7,071 shares of the company's stock worth $369,000 after buying an additional 664 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $307,000. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp raised its holdings in Monster Beverage by 22.9% in the 3rd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 6,064 shares of the company's stock valued at $316,000 after acquiring an additional 1,131 shares during the last quarter. American Trust purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the 3rd quarter worth $687,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 11.6% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,363,935 shares of the company's stock worth $71,156,000 after purchasing an additional 141,495 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.36% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

In other news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 12,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.50, for a total value of $654,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 296,846 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,178,107. The trade was a 3.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.27, for a total transaction of $552,700.00. Following 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 position. 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 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 7.80% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MNST. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target 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 target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $57.89.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

MNST opened at $59.15 on Thursday. Monster Beverage Co. has a twelve month low of $43.32 and a twelve month high of $60.34. The firm has a market cap of $57.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.92, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 3.13, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.30.

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

Monster Beverage 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.

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