Ninety One North America Inc. Trims Stake in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST)

Ninety One North America Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 7.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 365,475 shares of the company's stock after selling 30,331 shares during the quarter. Monster Beverage makes up 1.4% of Ninety One North America Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Ninety One North America Inc.'s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $21,388,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MNST. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 76.2% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 66,906 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,915,000 after purchasing an additional 28,932 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Monster Beverage by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 113,866 shares of the company's stock worth $5,985,000 after buying an additional 6,210 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Monster Beverage by 28.8% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 36,501 shares of the company's stock worth $2,136,000 after buying an additional 8,155 shares during the last quarter. Advisor Resource Council bought a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the first quarter worth $460,000. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 3.8% in the first quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 423,548 shares of the company's stock worth $24,786,000 after acquiring an additional 15,493 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In related news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 8,796 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.46, for a total transaction of $549,398.16. Following the transaction, the insider owned 89,501 shares in the company, valued at $5,590,232.46. The trade was a 8.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 27,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The shares were 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 7.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MNST shares. TD Cowen raised their price target on Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Monster Beverage from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on Monster Beverage from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $62.05.

Monster Beverage Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of NASDAQ MNST traded down $1.26 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $61.59. The company had a trading volume of 5,912,134 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,988,352. Monster Beverage Corporation has a one year low of $43.32 and a one year high of $64.45. The company has a quick ratio of 2.78, a current ratio of 3.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $62.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.63. The stock has a market cap of $60.07 billion, a PE ratio of 40.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.59.

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 (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.42 EPS. Monster Beverage's revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current year.

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.