Axa S.A. Sells 19,447 Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

AXA S.A. lessened its position in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 576,140 shares of the company's stock after selling 19,447 shares during the period. AXA S.A. owned 0.06% of Monster Beverage worth $30,282,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MNST. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter valued at about $442,642,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 659.1% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 4,872,972 shares of the company's stock valued at $251,445,000 after purchasing an additional 4,231,063 shares during the last quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Monster Beverage by 250.9% during the fourth quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 3,468,660 shares of the company's stock valued at $178,801,000 after purchasing an additional 2,480,291 shares during the period. Champlain Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter valued at about $121,575,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at $106,882,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.36% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In related news, insider Guy Carling sold 47,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.02, for a total value of $2,585,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 21,993 shares in the company, valued at $1,210,054.86. This trade represents a 68.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 72,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,994,528.71. This represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 208,316 shares of company stock worth $11,484,440. 7.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Shares of Monster Beverage stock traded up $0.50 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $60.52. The company had a trading volume of 3,823,846 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,958,008. The stock has a market cap of $59.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.80, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.63. Monster Beverage Co. has a 12-month low of $43.32 and a 12-month high of $61.29. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.81. 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 - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.80 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 23.31%. As a group, analysts predict that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $59.00 price objective on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $58.89.

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.