Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST Shares Sold by MetLife Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• MetLife Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Monster Beverage Corporation by 2.0%, owning 206,587 shares valued at approximately $12.09 million after selling 4,256 shares in the first quarter.
• Monster Beverage reported earnings of $0.52 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.48, with a revenue of $2.11 billion, up 11.1% from the previous year.
• The stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" among analysts, with a target price average of $65.10, and approximately 72.36% of its shares are held by institutional investors.

MetLife Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 2.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 206,587 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,256 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC's holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $12,089,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 37.1% in the 1st quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 724 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 21.2% in the 1st quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,314 shares of the company's stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.73, for a total value of $637,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 51,191 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,262,402.43. This represents a 16.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 8.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MNST shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Monster Beverage from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on Monster Beverage in a report on Thursday, June 12th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $72.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $68.00 price target on Monster Beverage and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Roth Capital reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $60.00 price target (up from $56.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $65.10.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MNST traded up $0.29 on Thursday, hitting $62.02. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,328,982 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,093,673. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 12 month low of $45.70 and a 12 month high of $66.75. The company has a market capitalization of $60.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.55. The stock's 50-day moving average is $61.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.49.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.04. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 27.46% and a net margin of 20.54%.The company had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.41 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.62 earnings per share 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.