Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) Shares Sold by Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 96.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,781 shares of the company's stock after selling 436,047 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $865,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MNST. CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 11,838 shares of the company's stock worth $622,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the period. Level Four Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Monster Beverage by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,996 shares of the company's stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Monster Beverage by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,323 shares of the company's stock worth $700,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc raised its position in Monster Beverage by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 4,340 shares of the company's stock valued at $228,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its position in Monster Beverage by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,314 shares of the company's stock valued at $122,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.36% of the company's stock.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

MNST stock traded down $0.63 on Friday, hitting $63.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,155,824 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,090,860. Monster Beverage Co. has a 1 year low of $43.32 and a 1 year high of $64.45. The stock has a market cap of $61.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.60. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $60.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $55.45. The company has a current ratio of 3.13, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.01. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 23.31% and a net margin of 21.66%. The firm had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.42 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MNST shares. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Thursday. They set a "buy" rating and a $72.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Two research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $62.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

In other Monster Beverage news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 27,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.40, for a total transaction of $1,711,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 69,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,391,908.20. This represents a 28.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 8,796 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 89,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,590,232.46. The trade was a 8.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 8.30% of the company's stock.

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.