Corebridge Financial Inc. Cuts Holdings in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Corebridge Financial Inc. reduced its position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 312,842 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,351 shares during the period. Corebridge Financial Inc.’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $16,443,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MNST. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,214,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Monster Beverage by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 154,125 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,101,000 after purchasing an additional 7,780 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Monster Beverage by 6.6% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 251,570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,124,000 after purchasing an additional 15,611 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in Monster Beverage by 6.7% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 151,364 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,897,000 after purchasing an additional 9,496 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Miracle Mile Advisors LLC bought a new position in Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter valued at $7,090,000. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 76,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,220,011.38. This trade represents a 54.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 72,273 shares in the company, valued at $3,994,528.71. This trade represents a 12.15 % 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 company insiders.

Monster Beverage Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of Monster Beverage stock opened at $57.83 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 3.13 and a quick ratio of 2.51. The stock has a market cap of $56.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.07, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $51.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.18. Monster Beverage Co. has a 1 year low of $43.32 and a 1 year high of $60.13.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on MNST. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.83.

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.