Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Increases Stake in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 89.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 202,238 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 95,464 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.'s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $11,651,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new position in Monster Beverage in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Headinvest LLC acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Monster Beverage by 34.6% in the third quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 774 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the third quarter worth $53,000. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

In other Monster Beverage news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 659,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.55, for a total value of $38,584,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 777,840 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $45,542,532. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 9.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MNST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $65.00 to $63.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Finally, HSBC lowered their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.32.

Monster Beverage Trading Down 0.7 %

MNST stock traded down $0.37 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $54.30. The company had a trading volume of 6,701,281 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,591,955. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.74. The business has a 50 day moving average of $56.78 and a 200 day moving average of $55.92. Monster Beverage Co. has a fifty-two week low of $47.13 and a fifty-two week high of $61.22.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 22.83%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.38 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.79 EPS for the current year.

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.

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