Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Has $9.70 Million Stock Holdings in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST)

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lessened its position in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 4.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 165,663 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,214 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.'s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $9,695,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MNST. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,112,000 shares of the company's stock worth $897,012,000 after buying an additional 1,383,914 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,590,994 shares of the company's stock worth $451,543,000 after buying an additional 734,406 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth about $442,642,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,357,921 shares of the company's stock worth $386,732,000 after buying an additional 825,489 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,406,131 shares of the company's stock worth $284,146,000 after buying an additional 493,914 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.36% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on MNST shares. CICC Research raised shares of Monster Beverage from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $56.00 to $65.00 in a report on Monday, May 12th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $61.91.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In related news, 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 transaction of $549,398.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 89,501 shares in the company, valued at $5,590,232.46. This represents a 8.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 27,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.40, for a total transaction of $1,711,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 69,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,391,908.20. This represents a 28.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 8.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MNST traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $59.00. The stock had a trading volume of 5,424,956 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,005,228. The company's 50-day moving average price is $62.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.96. The company has a market capitalization of $57.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a quick ratio of 2.78, a current ratio of 3.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Monster Beverage Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $43.32 and a fifty-two week 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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.97 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 20.27% and a return on equity of 27.46%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.42 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.