Prudential Financial Inc. Cuts Holdings in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Prudential Financial Inc. decreased its position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 20.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 360,818 shares of the company’s stock after selling 92,960 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $18,965,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 0.7% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 39,187 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,045,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 5,386 shares of the company’s stock worth $281,000 after buying an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 28.3% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 80,624 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,206,000 after buying an additional 17,774 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its holdings in Monster Beverage by 77.6% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 186,210 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,715,000 after buying an additional 81,353 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Monster Beverage by 11.5% during the third quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 11,621 shares of the company’s stock worth $606,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Stock Down 0.1 %

MNST opened at $57.76 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.71. Monster Beverage Co. has a one year low of $43.32 and a one year high of $60.13. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $51.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $52.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 3.13 and a quick ratio of 2.51.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 23.31% and a net margin of 21.66%. Equities research analysts expect that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In other Monster Beverage news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.27, for a total value of $552,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 72,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,994,528.71. The trade was a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total transaction of $5,057,080.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 76,201 shares in the company, valued at $4,220,011.38. The trade was a 54.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 208,316 shares of company stock valued at $11,484,440. 7.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on MNST shares. BNP Paribas reduced their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.83.

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.