Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) Shares Sold by Cullinan Associates Inc.

Cullinan Associates Inc. cut its stake in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 34.5% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 60,700 shares of the company’s stock after selling 32,000 shares during the quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc.’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $3,598,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 63,682,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,668,738,000 after buying an additional 550,293 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 20.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 19,515,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,033,323,000 after purchasing an additional 3,296,466 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in Monster Beverage by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 11,622,228 shares of the company’s stock worth $669,557,000 after purchasing an additional 330,740 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 40.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,478,380 shares of the company’s stock valued at $603,659,000 after buying an additional 3,026,657 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at about $517,035,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on MNST. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $65.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $64.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Monday. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Monster Beverage from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.05.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

NASDAQ MNST traded down $0.61 on Tuesday, hitting $49.29. 2,200,667 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,565,437. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $52.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.28. The firm has a market cap of $51.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.76. Monster Beverage Co. has a fifty-two week low of $47.13 and a fifty-two week high of $61.22.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.01). Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 22.83%. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.38 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 250,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.22, for a total transaction of $13,055,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 532,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,820,413.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 250,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.22, for a total transaction of $13,055,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 532,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,820,413.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 15,077 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.85, for a total value of $781,742.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 68,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,534,458.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 307,221 shares of company stock worth $16,070,374 in the last 90 days. 7.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.