Montag & Caldwell LLC Has $9.79 Million Holdings in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Montag & Caldwell LLC trimmed its position in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 186,306 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,637 shares during the period. Monster Beverage makes up 2.1% of Montag & Caldwell LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Montag & Caldwell LLC’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $9,792,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MNST. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its position in Monster Beverage by 62.5% in the 4th quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 528 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new position in Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $59.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. BNP Paribas lowered their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.44.

Insider Activity

In other Monster Beverage news, insider Guy Carling sold 47,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.02, for a total value of $2,585,940.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 21,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,210,054.86. The trade was a 68.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the business’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 sale, the insider now directly owns 76,201 shares in the company, valued at $4,220,011.38. This represents a 54.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 208,316 shares of company stock valued at $11,484,440 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

MNST stock opened at $58.58 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 3.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Monster Beverage Co. has a twelve month low of $43.32 and a twelve month high of $60.34. The business’s fifty day moving average is $54.63 and its 200-day moving average is $52.97. The company has a market cap of $57.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.64.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced 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). The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 23.31%. Equities research analysts forecast 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.