First Trust Advisors LP Has $44.27 Million Stock Holdings in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

First Trust Advisors LP trimmed its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 79.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 842,176 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,336,573 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.09% of Monster Beverage worth $44,265,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MNST. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter valued at about $442,642,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 659.1% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 4,872,972 shares of the company's stock worth $251,445,000 after purchasing an additional 4,231,063 shares in the last quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 250.9% in the fourth quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 3,468,660 shares of the company's stock valued at $178,801,000 after purchasing an additional 2,480,291 shares in the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $121,575,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter worth approximately $106,882,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company's stock.

Monster Beverage Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of Monster Beverage stock traded up $0.08 on Friday, hitting $58.67. The company had a trading volume of 3,898,245 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,057,922. Monster Beverage Co. has a twelve month low of $43.32 and a twelve month high of $60.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 3.13 and a quick ratio of 2.51. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $56.45 and a 200-day moving average of $53.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.64.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

MNST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Monster Beverage from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $58.39.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In other news, insider Guy Carling sold 47,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.02, for a total transaction of $2,585,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,210,054.86. The trade was a 68.12 % decrease in their position. The sale 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 firm's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, 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 quarter, insiders have sold 208,316 shares of company stock valued at $11,484,440. 7.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.