Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 18,714 Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lowered its holdings in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 560,049 shares of the company’s stock after selling 18,714 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 0.06% of Monster Beverage worth $29,436,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 5.2% during the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 17,752 shares of the company’s stock worth $926,000 after acquiring an additional 882 shares in the last quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Monster Beverage by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $445,000 after purchasing an additional 4,285 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Monster Beverage by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 95,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,006,000 after purchasing an additional 8,844 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 18.1% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,898,127 shares of the company’s stock worth $203,365,000 after purchasing an additional 596,078 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the third quarter valued at approximately $630,000. Institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Monster Beverage 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 sale, the director now directly owns 296,846 shares in the company, valued at $16,178,107. This represents a 3.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Guy Carling sold 47,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.02, for a total transaction of $2,585,940.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 21,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,210,054.86. This trade represents a 68.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 208,316 shares of company stock worth $11,484,440 in the last quarter. 7.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

NASDAQ MNST opened at $57.08 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $53.17 and its 200-day moving average is $52.68. The firm has a market cap of $55.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.71. Monster Beverage Co. has a 12-month low of $43.32 and a 12-month high of $60.34. The company has a quick ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 3.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last issued its earnings results 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). Monster Beverage had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 23.31%. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MNST. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group raised their price target 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. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $59.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.11.

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.