Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) Shares Sold by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. lowered its stake in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 52.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,676,067 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,818,308 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.16% of Monster Beverage worth $83,720,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. grew its stake in Monster Beverage by 141.2% in the 2nd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 141,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,086,000 after purchasing an additional 10,852 shares in the last quarter. Andra AP fonden purchased a new position in Monster Beverage in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,738,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 12.5% in the 2nd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 469,902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,472,000 after purchasing an additional 52,242 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. lifted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 254.7% in the 2nd quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. now owns 48,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,433,000 after purchasing an additional 34,980 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MNST has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Monster Beverage from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Monster Beverage from $59.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Monster Beverage from $56.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on Monster Beverage from $63.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.85.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

NASDAQ MNST opened at $50.83 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $49.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 3.41 and a quick ratio of 2.69. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $48.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $52.46. Monster Beverage Co. has a 1-year low of $43.32 and a 1-year high of $61.22.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.01 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 22.84% and a return on equity of 22.23%. The business’s revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.39 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.66 EPS for the current year.

Monster Beverage Company 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.