MML Investors Services LLC Sells 37,309 Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

MML Investors Services LLC lowered its holdings in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 20.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 144,825 shares of the company's stock after selling 37,309 shares during the quarter. MML Investors Services LLC's holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $7,612,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Monster Beverage Price Performance

Shares of MNST stock traded up $0.25 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $58.74. 427,140 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,015,874. Monster Beverage Co. has a fifty-two week low of $43.32 and a fifty-two week high of $60.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 3.13 and a quick ratio of 2.51. The stock's fifty day moving average is $56.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.53. The company has a market cap of $57.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.64.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last issued 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 23.31%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Monster Beverage news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.27, for a total transaction of $552,700.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 72,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,994,528.71. The trade was a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Mark J. Hall sold 48,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.89, for a total value of $2,634,720.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 296,846 shares in the company, valued at $16,293,876.94. The trade was a 13.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 208,316 shares of company stock worth $11,484,440. Company insiders own 7.80% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MNST has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Bank of America increased their target price on Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $58.39.

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.