Sepio Capital LP Reduces Position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Sepio Capital LP cut its stake in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 69,820 shares of the company’s stock after selling 338 shares during the quarter. Sepio Capital LP’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $3,670,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MNST. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its stake in Monster Beverage by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 17,752 shares of the company’s stock worth $926,000 after purchasing an additional 882 shares during the period. IHT Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Monster Beverage by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $445,000 after purchasing an additional 4,285 shares during the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 6.0% in the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 498,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,983,000 after buying an additional 28,145 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in Monster Beverage by 10.2% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 95,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,006,000 after purchasing an additional 8,844 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,059,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,274,000 after buying an additional 10,208 shares in the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In other news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.27, for a total value of $552,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 72,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,994,528.71. This represents a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was 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 approximately $4,220,011.38. This trade represents a 54.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 208,316 shares of company stock valued at $11,484,440. 7.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MNST. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Friday, February 28th. BNP Paribas decreased their price objective on Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.11.

Monster Beverage Stock Down 4.3 %

MNST opened at $57.08 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 3.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Monster Beverage Co. has a twelve month low of $43.32 and a twelve month high of $60.34. The company has a market cap of $55.55 billion, a PE ratio of 36.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $53.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.68.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 23.31% and a net margin of 21.66%. Sell-side analysts expect that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.