Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST Shares Sold by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC cut its stake in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) by 27.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 372,313 shares of the company’s stock after selling 140,549 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $23,319,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MNST. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Monster Beverage in the 2nd quarter worth about $544,584,000. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 4,877.8% in the second quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 7,283,879 shares of the company’s stock worth $456,262,000 after acquiring an additional 7,137,552 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the second quarter valued at approximately $157,063,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 1,126.9% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,121,758 shares of the company’s stock valued at $132,907,000 after acquiring an additional 1,948,827 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in Monster Beverage by 43.1% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 6,306,510 shares of the company’s stock worth $395,040,000 after purchasing an additional 1,898,804 shares during the period. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Shares of MNST stock opened at $73.57 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $70.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $65.39. Monster Beverage Corporation has a twelve month low of $45.70 and a twelve month high of $76.28. The company has a market capitalization of $71.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.80, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.48.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.08. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 27.76% and a net margin of 21.65%.The company had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.41 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MNST shares. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $79.00 price objective on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $79.00 price objective (up from $76.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $81.00 target price (up previously from $75.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Argus raised shares of Monster Beverage to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.45.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Monster Beverage news, insider Guy Carling sold 38,438 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.33, for a total transaction of $2,741,782.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 21,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,568,760.69. The trade was a 63.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 7.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.