AQR Capital Management LLC Trims Position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

AQR Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 18.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 990,826 shares of the company's stock after selling 224,144 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.10% of Monster Beverage worth $52,078,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co raised its position in Monster Beverage by 10.4% in the third quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 7,071 shares of the company's stock valued at $369,000 after purchasing an additional 664 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage during the third quarter worth approximately $307,000. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp lifted its position in Monster Beverage by 22.9% in the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 6,064 shares of the company's stock valued at $316,000 after acquiring an additional 1,131 shares during the last quarter. American Trust acquired a new position in Monster Beverage during the third quarter worth approximately $687,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Monster Beverage by 11.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,363,935 shares of the company's stock valued at $71,156,000 after purchasing an additional 141,495 shares during the period. 72.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Monster Beverage Stock Up 0.9 %

MNST stock traded up $0.53 during trading on Friday, reaching $60.05. 4,157,467 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,999,236. The firm's 50 day moving average is $57.19 and its 200 day moving average is $53.72. Monster Beverage Co. has a twelve month low of $43.32 and a twelve month high of $60.34. The company has a current ratio of 3.13, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market cap of $58.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.63.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.80 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 23.31%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $59.00 price target on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Monster Beverage from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Monster Beverage presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $58.78.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In related news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.27, for a total value of $552,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 72,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,994,528.71. This represents a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 owns 76,201 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,220,011.38. This represents a 54.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 208,316 shares of company stock valued at $11,484,440. Insiders own 7.80% 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.