Natixis Cuts Position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Natixis trimmed its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 37.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 44,670 shares of the company's stock after selling 26,505 shares during the period. Natixis' holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $2,348,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its stake in Monster Beverage by 62.5% during the fourth quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 528 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the business'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 transaction, the insider now owns 76,201 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,220,011.38. The trade was a 54.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 owns 72,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,994,528.71. This represents a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 208,316 shares of company stock worth $11,484,440 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 7.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MNST has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $59.00 price target on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $57.33.

Monster Beverage Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MNST opened at $58.01 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $55.72 and a 200 day moving average of $53.22. The company has a market cap of $56.45 billion, a PE ratio of 37.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.64. Monster Beverage Co. has a 12-month low of $43.32 and a 12-month high of $60.34. 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 (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 during 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 EPS for the current 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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