Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) Shares Sold by Sepio Capital LP

Sepio Capital LP decreased its stake in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 69,820 shares of the company’s stock after selling 338 shares during the quarter. Sepio Capital LP’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $3,670,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

In other Monster Beverage news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 48,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.89, for a total value of $2,634,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 296,846 shares in the company, valued at $16,293,876.94. This represents a 13.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total value of $5,057,080.08. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 76,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,220,011.38. This trade represents a 54.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 208,316 shares of company stock worth $11,484,440. 7.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MNST. BNP Paribas cut their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Monster Beverage currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.11.

Monster Beverage Stock Down 4.3 %

MNST stock opened at $57.08 on Friday. Monster Beverage Co. has a 1-year low of $43.32 and a 1-year high of $60.34. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $53.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.68. 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 firm has a market cap of $55.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.59, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.71.

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 company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 23.31%. Research analysts predict 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.