Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) Position Trimmed by M&T Bank Corp

M&T Bank Corp lessened its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 71,367 shares of the company’s stock after selling 798 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $4,112,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Peoples Bank KS bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Headinvest LLC bought a new stake in Monster Beverage during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Monster Beverage during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Monster Beverage by 34.6% during the third quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 774 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the period. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Monster Beverage during the third quarter worth approximately $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Monster Beverage from $65.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Monster Beverage from $58.00 to $56.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Monster Beverage presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.32.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ:MNST opened at $54.67 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.92. The stock has a market cap of $56.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.38, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.74. Monster Beverage Co. has a 1-year low of $47.13 and a 1-year high of $61.22.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.01). Monster Beverage had a net margin of 22.83% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.38 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.79 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.