Middleton & Co. Inc. MA Has $1.47 Million Holdings in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Middleton & Co. Inc. MA lessened its holdings in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 7.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,992 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,210 shares during the period. Middleton & Co. Inc. MA’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $1,471,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 62.5% in the 4th quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 84.9% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,185 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 544 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MNST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. BNP Paribas dropped their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.26.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In other news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.65, for a total transaction of $526,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,944,748.60. This represents a 11.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 7.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

Shares of MNST stock opened at $54.65 on Friday. Monster Beverage Co. has a 1 year low of $43.32 and a 1 year high of $61.22. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $50.27 and its 200-day moving average is $51.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.03, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 3.13, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

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

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.