Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) Shares Sold by Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. trimmed its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,610 shares of the company’s stock after selling 461 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $611,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MNST. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 98.4% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 34,001,871 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,836,434,000 after buying an additional 16,863,544 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Monster Beverage by 103.0% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,361,510 shares of the company’s stock worth $773,729,000 after purchasing an additional 7,287,123 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth approximately $363,374,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 20.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 19,515,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,033,323,000 after purchasing an additional 3,296,466 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 32.8% in the 2nd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 9,747,630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $559,905,000 after purchasing an additional 2,407,774 shares during the period. 72.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Monster Beverage Stock Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ:MNST opened at $55.01 on Friday. Monster Beverage Co. has a 52 week low of $47.13 and a 52 week high of $61.22. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.47. The company has a market cap of $57.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.72.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 20.95% and a net margin of 22.84%. Monster Beverage’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.28 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.81 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In other Monster Beverage news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 659,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly 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 at the SEC website. 9.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MNST shares. HSBC lowered their price target on Monster Beverage from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average 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.