Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Has $112.18 Million Position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. reduced its holdings in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,947,211 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,619 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $112,179,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Freedom Wealth Alliance LLC bought a new stake in Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Monster Beverage in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Peoples Bank KS bought a new stake in Monster Beverage in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Quarry LP increased its stake in Monster Beverage by 276.1% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.11.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of MNST opened at $54.69 on Wednesday. Monster Beverage Co. has a 12 month low of $47.13 and a 12 month high of $61.22. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.28, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.72.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.76 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 22.84% and a return on equity of 20.95%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.28 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

In other Monster Beverage news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 659,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.55, for a total value of $38,584,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 777,840 shares in the company, valued at $45,542,532. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 9.40% of the company’s stock.

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.