Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Has $25.55 Million Stake in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC reduced its position in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 2.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor 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 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter worth about $442,642,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in Monster Beverage by 659.1% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 4,872,972 shares of the company's stock worth $251,445,000 after acquiring an additional 4,231,063 shares during the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $121,575,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter worth $110,942,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter worth approximately $106,882,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.36% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Monster Beverage news, insider Guy Carling sold 47,000 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the insider now owns 21,993 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,210,054.86. This trade represents a 68.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark J. Hall sold 12,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.50, for a total transaction of $654,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 296,846 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,178,107. The trade was a 3.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 104,796 shares of company stock worth $6,053,838. 8.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MNST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. CICC Research upgraded Monster Beverage from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $56.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Monday, May 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $67.00 target price on Monster Beverage and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $60.81.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

NASDAQ MNST traded up $0.04 on Tuesday, reaching $63.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,630,288 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,254,468. Monster Beverage Co. has a 52 week low of $43.32 and a 52 week high of $64.45. The firm has a market cap of $61.48 billion, a PE ratio of 40.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.60. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $60.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.34. The company has a current ratio of 3.13, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 23.31% and a net margin of 21.66%. The company had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.42 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 EPS for the current 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.