Allianz Asset Management GmbH Sells 386,562 Shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST)

Allianz Asset Management GmbH lessened its stake in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 10.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,354,108 shares of the company's stock after selling 386,562 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH owned 0.34% of Monster Beverage worth $196,283,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MNST. Twin Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Monster Beverage by 11.6% during the 1st quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,213 shares of the company's stock worth $305,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 76.2% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 66,906 shares of the company's stock worth $3,915,000 after buying an additional 28,932 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 2.4% in the first quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 315,704 shares of the company's stock worth $18,475,000 after buying an additional 7,465 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 0.9% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,289,392 shares of the company's stock worth $75,455,000 after buying an additional 11,443 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 28.8% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 36,501 shares of the company's stock worth $2,136,000 after buying an additional 8,155 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.36% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

In other news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 27,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.40, for a total value of $1,711,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 69,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,391,908.20. This represents a 28.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 8,796 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.46, for a total value of $549,398.16. Following the sale, the insider owned 89,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,590,232.46. This trade represents a 8.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 7.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

NASDAQ MNST traded up $0.16 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $59.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,995,504 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,990,396. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.12 billion, a PE ratio of 39.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 3.37 and a quick ratio of 2.78. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $62.30 and a 200 day moving average of $57.07. Monster Beverage Corporation has a one year low of $43.32 and a one year high of $64.45.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.01. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 27.46% and a net margin of 20.27%. The company had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.42 EPS. Monster Beverage's quarterly revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Roth Capital lifted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Monster Beverage from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $63.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Roth Mkm lifted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $61.91.

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.