Valley National Advisers Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Valley National Advisers Inc. decreased its position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 48.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 761 shares of the company’s stock after selling 710 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $43,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC lifted its stake in Monster Beverage by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC now owns 680,982 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,231,000 after purchasing an additional 6,033 shares during the last quarter. Americana Partners LLC raised its holdings in Monster Beverage by 60.1% during the 4th quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 11,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $635,000 after acquiring an additional 4,139 shares during the period. One Wealth Management Investment & Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter valued at $205,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its holdings in Monster Beverage by 19.3% during the 4th quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 183,127 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,499,000 after acquiring an additional 29,682 shares during the period. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its holdings in Monster Beverage by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 5,908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $340,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In other news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 659,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.55, for a total transaction of $38,584,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 777,840 shares in the company, valued at $45,542,532. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 9.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. HSBC lowered their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Monster Beverage presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.11.

Monster Beverage Stock Down 1.7 %

NASDAQ MNST opened at $54.81 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $57.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.47. The firm has a market cap of $57.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.36, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.72. Monster Beverage Co. has a 12-month low of $47.13 and a 12-month high of $61.22.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.76 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 22.84% and a return on equity of 20.95%. Monster Beverage’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.28 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.