Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) Shares Sold by Nordea Investment Management AB

Nordea Investment Management AB reduced its stake in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 17.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,937,905 shares of the company's stock after selling 609,656 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB owned 0.30% of Monster Beverage worth $154,593,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd raised its stake in Monster Beverage by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 23,858 shares of the company's stock worth $1,192,000 after acquiring an additional 532 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted 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 period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in Monster Beverage by 6.7% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 151,364 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,897,000 after buying an additional 9,496 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the third quarter valued at approximately $630,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 18.1% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,898,127 shares of the company's stock worth $203,365,000 after acquiring an additional 596,078 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.36% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In other news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.65, for a total transaction of $526,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,924 shares in the company, valued at $3,944,748.60. This represents a 11.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 7.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MNST shares. Argus increased their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Monster Beverage from $61.00 to $59.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $56.30.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MNST traded down $0.32 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $51.55. The company had a trading volume of 4,893,085 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,063,546. The company has a current ratio of 3.13, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Monster Beverage Co. has a twelve month low of $43.32 and a twelve month high of $61.22. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $53.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.13 billion, a PE ratio of 33.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.74.

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.