KBC Group NV Sells 89,149 Shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST)

KBC Group NV reduced its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 44.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 111,095 shares of the company's stock after selling 89,149 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV's holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $6,501,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MNST. iA Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 113,866 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,985,000 after purchasing an additional 6,210 shares during the last quarter. Advisor Resource Council acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the 1st quarter worth about $460,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 423,548 shares of the company's stock worth $24,786,000 after buying an additional 15,493 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth about $365,000. Finally, GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at about $9,688,000. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 value of $1,711,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 69,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,391,908.20. This represents a 28.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 8,796 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.46, for a total value of $549,398.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 89,501 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,590,232.46. This 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on Monster Beverage in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $72.00 price target for the company. CICC Research raised Monster Beverage from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $56.00 to $65.00 in a report on Monday, May 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Monster Beverage from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Roth Capital boosted their target price 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $62.05.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MNST traded down $0.50 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $63.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,051,599 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,002,063. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.47, a PEG ratio of 2.22 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 50 day moving average price of $62.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $56.29. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 12-month low of $43.32 and a 12-month high of $64.45.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 27.46% and a net margin of 20.27%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.42 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.62 earnings per share 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.