Knuff & Co LLC Sells 2,176 Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Knuff & Co LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 92,813 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,176 shares during the quarter. Monster Beverage makes up 1.5% of Knuff & Co LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Knuff & Co LLC’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $4,878,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MNST. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 6.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,742,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,760,341,000 after acquiring an additional 2,168,379 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its stake in Monster Beverage by 4.7% during the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 27,142,970 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,416,048,000 after buying an additional 1,229,789 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 109.3% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 22,559,092 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,176,913,000 after purchasing an additional 11,779,162 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,728,086 shares of the company’s stock valued at $817,490,000 after purchasing an additional 473,418 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,002,484 shares of the company’s stock worth $210,371,000 after buying an additional 143,871 shares during the period. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total value of $5,057,080.08. Following the sale, the insider now owns 76,201 shares in the company, valued at $4,220,011.38. This represents a 54.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.65, for a total value of $526,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,944,748.60. This represents a 11.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 7.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MNST shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Citigroup upped their price target on Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. BNP Paribas dropped their target price on Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $59.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a report 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 company. According to MarketBeat, Monster Beverage has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.83.

Monster Beverage Trading Down 1.0 %

Monster Beverage stock opened at $55.23 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $50.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a current ratio of 3.13. The stock has a market cap of $53.75 billion, a PE ratio of 35.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.71. Monster Beverage Co. has a one year low of $43.32 and a one year high of $61.22.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last released its 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). The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 23.31%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Monster Beverage 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.