Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Sells 38,476 Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 11.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 307,835 shares of the company’s stock after selling 38,476 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $17,734,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cibc World Market Inc. grew its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 6,759 shares of the company’s stock valued at $540,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,097,590 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,699,000 after purchasing an additional 27,858 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL grew its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 2,537 shares of the company’s stock valued at $203,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 76.1% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 37,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,997,000 after purchasing an additional 16,206 shares during the period. Finally, Aviva PLC grew its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 91.4% in the 1st quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 114,297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,132,000 after purchasing an additional 54,586 shares during the period. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In related news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 659,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.55, for a total transaction of $38,584,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 777,840 shares in the company, valued at $45,542,532. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 9.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

MNST opened at $55.65 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $57.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.47. Monster Beverage Co. has a 1 year low of $47.13 and a 1 year high of $61.22. The company has a market capitalization of $57.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.72.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38. The business had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.76 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 20.95% and a net margin of 22.84%. Monster Beverage’s quarterly revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.28 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MNST. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Monster Beverage in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Monster Beverage from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.11.

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.