First Trust Advisors LP Sells 3,336,573 Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

First Trust Advisors LP trimmed its position in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 79.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 842,176 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,336,573 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.09% of Monster Beverage worth $44,265,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth about $1,214,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Monster Beverage by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 154,125 shares of the company's stock worth $8,101,000 after acquiring an additional 7,780 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,090,000. Diversified Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter valued at $733,000. Finally, Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter worth approximately $423,000. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.27, for a total value of $552,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was 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 owns 76,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,220,011.38. The trade was a 54.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 208,316 shares of company stock worth $11,484,440. 7.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

Shares of MNST stock traded up $0.21 on Tuesday, reaching $58.70. The company's stock had a trading volume of 384,491 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,015,611. The company has a market capitalization of $57.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.72, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a quick ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 3.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $56.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.53. Monster Beverage Co. has a 12-month low of $43.32 and a 12-month high of $60.34.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MNST shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Monster Beverage from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $58.39.

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.