Montag & Caldwell LLC Sells 14,637 Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Montag & Caldwell LLC cut its position in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 7.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 186,306 shares of the company's stock after selling 14,637 shares during the period. Monster Beverage accounts for 2.1% of Montag & Caldwell LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Montag & Caldwell LLC's holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $9,792,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $491,000. XTX Topco Ltd increased its position in Monster Beverage by 101.0% during the fourth quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 26,598 shares of the company's stock worth $1,398,000 after acquiring an additional 13,366 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 11,838 shares of the company's stock valued at $622,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. Mariner LLC grew its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 141,646 shares of the company's stock worth $7,445,000 after purchasing an additional 5,409 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 40,014 shares of the company's stock worth $2,103,000 after purchasing an additional 1,070 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.36% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on MNST shares. Citigroup increased their target price on Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $59.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $57.33.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of Monster Beverage stock traded up $0.46 on Friday, hitting $58.41. 7,138,324 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,086,313. The company has a fifty day moving average of $55.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $53.15. Monster Beverage Co. has a one year low of $43.32 and a one year high of $60.34. The company has a market capitalization of $56.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 3.13 and a quick ratio of 2.51.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

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

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.