M&T Bank Corp Sells 9,280 Shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST)

M&T Bank Corp reduced its stake in shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 15.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 51,313 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,280 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $3,003,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MNST. CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its stake in Monster Beverage by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 11,838 shares of the company's stock worth $622,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Conning Inc. increased its stake in Monster Beverage by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 5,853 shares of the company's stock worth $343,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Monster Beverage by 4.6% in 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 stake in Monster Beverage by 1.8% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, PDS Planning Inc increased its stake in Monster Beverage by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 4,340 shares of the company's stock worth $228,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America lifted their target price on Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on Monster Beverage in a report on Thursday, June 12th. They set a "buy" rating and a $72.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Roth Capital lifted their price target on Monster Beverage from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $61.87.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

NASDAQ:MNST traded down $0.73 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $58.94. The company had a trading volume of 6,618,588 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,008,323. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $62.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.89. Monster Beverage Corporation has a one year low of $43.32 and a one year high of $64.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.48 billion, a PE ratio of 38.78, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a quick ratio of 2.78, a current ratio of 3.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

In other news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 8,796 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.46, for a total transaction of $549,398.16. Following the sale, the insider owned 89,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,590,232.46. This represents a 8.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 27,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 69,273 shares in the company, valued at $4,391,908.20. The trade was a 28.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 7.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.