Candriam S.C.A. Sells 6,570 Shares of Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST

Key Points

• Candriam S.C.A. has reduced its stake in Monster Beverage Corporation by 14.2%, selling 6,570 shares and now holding 39,565 shares worth approximately $2.3 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group Inc. and Invesco Ltd., have increased their positions in Monster Beverage, leading to a total of 72.36% institutional ownership in the company.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Monster Beverage, with consensus ratings indicating strong potential for growth, as twelve analysts rated it as a "Buy".

Candriam S.C.A. lessened its position in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 14.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,565 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,570 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.'s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $2,315,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,786,624 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,791,313,000 after purchasing an additional 1,151,175 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Monster Beverage by 6.6% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,154,347 shares of the company's stock valued at $535,712,000 after acquiring an additional 563,353 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Monster Beverage during the first quarter valued at approximately $497,157,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Monster Beverage by 1.0% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,431,658 shares of the company's stock valued at $434,901,000 after acquiring an additional 73,737 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Monster Beverage by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,406,131 shares of the company's stock valued at $284,146,000 after acquiring an additional 493,914 shares during the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. CICC Research raised shares of Monster Beverage from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the company from $56.00 to $65.00 in a report on Monday, May 12th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $73.00 price objective on Monster Beverage and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Monster Beverage from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Monster Beverage from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Monster Beverage presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $65.10.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MNST opened at $62.84 on Friday. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 1 year low of $45.70 and a 1 year high of $66.75. The company has a market cap of $61.36 billion, a PE ratio of 39.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.55. The stock's 50-day moving average is $61.70 and its 200 day moving average is $59.15.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.08 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 27.46% and a net margin of 20.54%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.41 EPS. Analysts expect that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

In other news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 27,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.40, for a total transaction of $1,711,800.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 69,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,391,908.20. The trade was a 28.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 10,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.73, for a total transaction of $637,300.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 51,191 shares in the company, valued at $3,262,402.43. The trade was a 16.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 8.30% of the company's stock.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MNST? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.