Stifel Financial Corp Sells 29,049 Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Stifel Financial Corp decreased its stake in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,030,441 shares of the company's stock after selling 29,049 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp owned 0.11% of Monster Beverage worth $54,160,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth about $442,642,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in Monster Beverage by 659.1% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 4,872,972 shares of the company's stock valued at $251,445,000 after buying an additional 4,231,063 shares in the last quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 250.9% in the 4th quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 3,468,660 shares of the company's stock valued at $178,801,000 after purchasing an additional 2,480,291 shares in the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter worth approximately $121,575,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter worth approximately $106,882,000. Institutional investors own 72.36% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on MNST shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Monster Beverage presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $58.39.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In related news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 12,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.50, for a total transaction of $654,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 296,846 shares in the company, valued at $16,178,107. This trade represents a 3.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 directly owns 72,273 shares in the company, valued at $3,994,528.71. This represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 208,316 shares of company stock valued at $11,484,440 over the last 90 days. 7.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Monster Beverage Trading Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ MNST traded down $0.25 during trading on Monday, reaching $58.42. 795,842 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,033,181. 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 quick ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 3.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market cap of $56.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.64. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $56.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.48.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 23.31%. Analysts predict that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

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.