Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Trims Stock Position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp cut its stake in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 11.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 700,176 shares of the company’s stock after selling 91,550 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned approximately 0.07% of Monster Beverage worth $36,801,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MNST. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter valued at $1,214,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 154,125 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,101,000 after purchasing an additional 7,780 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 251,570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,124,000 after purchasing an additional 15,611 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter worth approximately $7,090,000. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the third quarter worth $630,000. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

In related news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.27, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark J. Hall sold 48,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.89, for a total transaction of $2,634,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 296,846 shares in the company, valued at $16,293,876.94. This represents a 13.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 208,316 shares of company stock worth $11,484,440 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of Monster Beverage stock opened at $57.76 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $51.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.28. Monster Beverage Co. has a fifty-two week low of $43.32 and a fifty-two week high of $60.13. The firm has a market cap of $56.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.71. 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 (NASDAQ:MNST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 23.31%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MNST shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Citigroup increased their target price on Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $59.00 price objective on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.