Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 18,714 Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA cut its position in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 560,049 shares of the company’s stock after selling 18,714 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $29,436,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 62.5% in the 4th quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. 72.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on MNST shares. BNP Paribas decreased their price target on Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $59.00 price target on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.11.

Monster Beverage Trading Down 4.3 %

MNST opened at $57.08 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $55.55 billion, a PE ratio of 36.59, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a 50 day moving average of $53.17 and a 200-day moving average of $52.68. Monster Beverage Co. has a 52 week low of $43.32 and a 52 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.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced its 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 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total value of $5,057,080.08. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 76,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,220,011.38. This represents a 54.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was 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 directly owns 72,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,994,528.71. This represents a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 208,316 shares of company stock worth $11,484,440. 7.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.