Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) Shares Sold by Gotham Asset Management LLC

Gotham Asset Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 8.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 187,994 shares of the company's stock after selling 18,160 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC's holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $9,881,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Monster Beverage by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 13,578 shares of the company's stock valued at $714,000 after buying an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 62.5% in the 4th quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 528 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 217 shares during the period. Level Four Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,996 shares of the company's stock valued at $263,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sapient Capital LLC grew its position in Monster Beverage by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 46,082 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,422,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the period. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Monster Beverage Stock Up 2.2%

MNST stock traded up $1.33 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $62.33. 6,752,714 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,950,116. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $54.11. The company has a market capitalization of $60.78 billion, a PE ratio of 39.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.63. Monster Beverage Co. has a twelve month low of $43.32 and a twelve month high of $62.46. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.01. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 23.31% and a net margin of 21.66%. The business had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.42 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 48,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.89, for a total value of $2,634,720.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 296,846 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,293,876.94. This trade represents a 13.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total transaction of $5,057,080.08. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 76,201 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,220,011.38. This represents a 54.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 208,316 shares of company stock worth $11,484,440. 8.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MNST. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Monster Beverage has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $60.50.

Monster Beverage 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.