Wells Fargo & Company MN Sells 192,624 Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Wells Fargo & Company MN lessened its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 19.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 806,529 shares of the company’s stock after selling 192,624 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned approximately 0.08% of Monster Beverage worth $42,391,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 62.5% during the fourth quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 5.9 %

Monster Beverage stock opened at $58.25 on Thursday. 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 Co. has a one year low of $43.32 and a one year high of $60.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.69 billion, a PE ratio of 37.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.64. The business’s fifty day moving average is $53.94 and its 200 day moving average is $52.84.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

In other news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total value of $5,057,080.08. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 76,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,220,011.38. This trade represents a 54.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Guy Carling sold 47,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.02, for a total value of $2,585,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,993 shares in the company, valued at $1,210,054.86. This trade represents a 68.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 208,316 shares of company stock valued at $11,484,440. 7.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MNST. UBS Group upped their price target on Monster Beverage from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Citigroup upped their price target on Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. BNP Paribas reduced their price target on Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $59.00 price target on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.11.

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.