LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. Sells 56,536 Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. reduced its stake in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 88.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,517 shares of the company’s stock after selling 56,536 shares during the period. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $395,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MNST. DJE Kapital AG purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth about $2,978,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 541.6% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,713 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,000 after purchasing an additional 1,446 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 4,923 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 711 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Monster Beverage by 47.2% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 8,525 shares of the company’s stock valued at $448,000 after acquiring an additional 2,734 shares during the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MNST shares. Argus increased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $59.00 price target on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,944,748.60. The trade was a 11.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 7.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MNST opened at $55.17 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $50.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.27. 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 company has a market cap of $53.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.74. Monster Beverage Co. has a twelve month low of $43.32 and a twelve month high of $61.22.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last issued 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). Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 23.31% and a net margin of 21.66%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.