Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) Shares Sold by Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lowered its holdings in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 5.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,585 shares of the company’s stock after selling 294 shares during the quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $294,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in Monster Beverage by 109.3% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 22,559,092 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,176,913,000 after buying an additional 11,779,162 shares during the period. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 250.9% in the fourth 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 during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 1,148.0% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,596,888 shares of the company’s stock valued at $135,480,000 after purchasing an additional 2,388,798 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in Monster Beverage by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,742,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,760,341,000 after purchasing an additional 2,168,379 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage during the 3rd quarter worth about $73,600,000. 72.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MNST opened at $48.06 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 3.13, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market cap of $46.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $50.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.04. Monster Beverage Co. has a twelve month low of $43.32 and a twelve month high of $61.22.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In other Monster Beverage news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.65, for a total value of $526,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,944,748.60. The trade was a 11.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 7.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MNST. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $59.00 price objective on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. BNP Paribas reduced their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Argus raised their price target on Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.42.

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.