Clearbridge Investments LLC Reduces Stock Position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Clearbridge Investments LLC lowered its stake in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,612,166 shares of the company's stock after selling 47,453 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned about 1.11% of Monster Beverage worth $580,028,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MNST. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. boosted its position in Monster Beverage by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. now owns 2,097 shares of the company's stock valued at $124,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 4.1% in the second quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,970 shares of the company's stock worth $248,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 5.1% in the first quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 4,317 shares of the company's stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in Monster Beverage by 0.4% during the second quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 48,726 shares of the company's stock worth $2,434,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 13,307 shares of the company's stock valued at $789,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.36% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on MNST. BNP Paribas began coverage on Monster Beverage in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $48.00 target price for the company. Citigroup dropped their target price on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $63.00 to $57.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 17th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $40.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $55.85.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

MNST traded down $0.58 on Tuesday, hitting $51.59. 6,678,987 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,151,683. The business has a 50-day moving average of $49.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 3.41 and a quick ratio of 2.69. Monster Beverage Co. has a 12 month low of $43.32 and a 12 month high of $61.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.45, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.74.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.01 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 22.23% and a net margin of 22.84%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.39 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.