Clarius Group LLC Sells 568 Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Clarius Group LLC lowered its position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 8.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 6,139 shares of the company’s stock after selling 568 shares during the period. Clarius Group LLC’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $354,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew its position in Monster Beverage by 98.4% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 34,001,871 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,836,434,000 after acquiring an additional 16,863,544 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Monster Beverage by 1.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,005,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,397,411,000 after acquiring an additional 504,239 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Monster Beverage by 20.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 19,515,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,033,323,000 after acquiring an additional 3,296,466 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Monster Beverage by 103.0% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,361,510 shares of the company’s stock worth $773,729,000 after acquiring an additional 7,287,123 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its position in Monster Beverage by 10.0% during the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 10,071,948 shares of the company’s stock valued at $804,749,000 after buying an additional 912,942 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on MNST shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. HSBC cut their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.11.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

MNST stock opened at $55.01 on Monday. Monster Beverage Co. has a 1 year low of $47.13 and a 1 year high of $61.22. The company has a market cap of $57.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.49, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.72. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $57.40 and a 200 day moving average of $55.49.

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