Cynosure Group LLC Cuts Stake in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Cynosure Group LLC cut its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 20.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,883 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,487 shares during the quarter. Cynosure Group LLC’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $309,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MNST. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,742,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,760,341,000 after purchasing an additional 2,168,379 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Monster Beverage by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,112,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $897,012,000 after buying an additional 1,383,914 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter valued at about $442,642,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 659.1% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 4,872,972 shares of the company’s stock worth $251,445,000 after buying an additional 4,231,063 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 21.0% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,716,603 shares of the company’s stock valued at $247,905,000 after acquiring an additional 818,476 shares during the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.50, for a total value of $654,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 296,846 shares in the company, valued at $16,178,107. This represents a 3.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total transaction of $5,057,080.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 76,201 shares in the company, valued at $4,220,011.38. The trade was a 54.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 208,316 shares of company stock worth $11,484,440. 7.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ MNST opened at $59.36 on Thursday. Monster Beverage Co. has a 1 year low of $43.32 and a 1 year high of $59.42. 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 50-day moving average of $52.77 and a 200 day moving average of $52.58. The stock has a market cap of $57.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.71.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.02). Monster Beverage had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 23.31%. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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, 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. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.11.

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.