Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Sells 12,033 Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lowered its stake in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 2.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 436,679 shares of the company's stock after selling 12,033 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC's holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $25,554,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 62.5% during the 4th quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 528 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management bought a new position in Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 259.2% during the fourth quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 686 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 495 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors own 72.36% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on MNST. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Monster Beverage from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $60.81.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MNST opened at $63.41 on Friday. Monster Beverage Co. has a twelve month low of $43.32 and a twelve month high of $64.45. The company has a current ratio of 3.13, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market cap of $61.84 billion, a PE ratio of 40.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.60. The company's 50 day moving average is $60.41 and its 200 day moving average is $55.20.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.01. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 23.31%. The firm had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.42 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

In related news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of Monster Beverage 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 72,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,994,528.71. This trade represents a 12.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark J. Hall sold 12,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.50, for a total value of $654,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 296,846 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,178,107. This represents a 3.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 152,796 shares of company stock valued at $8,688,558. 8.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Monster Beverage

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.

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.