Bleakley Financial Group LLC Decreases Holdings in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC lowered its position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 14,165 shares of the company’s stock after selling 448 shares during the quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $816,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Freedom Wealth Alliance LLC acquired a new position in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new position in Monster Beverage in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 276.1% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 659,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.55, for a total value of $38,584,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 777,840 shares in the company, valued at $45,542,532. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 9.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MNST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Monster Beverage currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.11.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

Monster Beverage stock opened at $55.01 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.25 billion, a PE ratio of 35.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.72. Monster Beverage Co. has a 12-month low of $47.13 and a 12-month high of $61.22.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.38. The business had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.76 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 22.84% and a return on equity of 20.95%. The business’s revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.28 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.81 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.