B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Sells 2,000 Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG lowered its stake in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 60,714 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,000 shares during the quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $3,191,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MNST. AIA Group Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 31.2% in the 4th quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 75,235 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,954,000 after buying an additional 17,911 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Monster Beverage by 21.0% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,716,603 shares of the company’s stock valued at $247,905,000 after acquiring an additional 818,476 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Monster Beverage by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 62,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,291,000 after acquiring an additional 10,445 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in Monster Beverage by 659.1% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group increased its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 405,677 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,310,000 after purchasing an additional 13,999 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MNST opened at $59.04 on Wednesday. Monster Beverage Co. has a 1 year low of $43.32 and a 1 year high of $59.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a current ratio of 3.13. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $52.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $52.53. The company has a market capitalization of $57.46 billion, a PE ratio of 37.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.71.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 23.31%. On average, research analysts predict that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.27, for a total value of $552,700.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 72,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,994,528.71. The trade was a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 76,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,220,011.38. The trade was a 54.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 208,316 shares of company stock worth $11,484,440 over the last three months. 7.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MNST. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. BNP Paribas dropped their price target on Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley lifted 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. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Two research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.83.

Monster Beverage Company 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.