Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 1,488,077 Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 24.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 4,603,013 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,488,077 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $241,934,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MNST. State Street Corp grew its position in Monster Beverage by 6.9% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 109.3% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 22,559,092 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,176,913,000 after purchasing an additional 11,779,162 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 3.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,728,086 shares of the company’s stock worth $817,490,000 after buying an additional 473,418 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter valued at $442,642,000. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in Monster Beverage by 659.1% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 4,872,972 shares of the company’s stock valued at $251,445,000 after buying an additional 4,231,063 shares during the period. 72.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 0.9 %

NASDAQ MNST opened at $59.04 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $52.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.53. The company has a current ratio of 3.13, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market cap of $57.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.85, a P/E/G 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 $59.07.

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

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In related news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.27, for a total value of $552,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 72,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,994,528.71. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total transaction of $5,057,080.08. Following the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 208,316 shares of company stock valued at $11,484,440 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on MNST shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Monster Beverage from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Friday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $59.00 price target on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.83.

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.