Ascent Group LLC Sells 302 Shares of Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST

Ascent Group LLC lessened its position in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) by 5.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,029 shares of the company’s stock after selling 302 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $294,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MNST. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the 1st quarter valued at about $497,157,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 5,095.6% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,063,351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $179,267,000 after purchasing an additional 3,004,391 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter valued at about $110,942,000. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 54.7% during the 1st quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 5,366,126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $303,728,000 after purchasing an additional 1,897,466 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 69.8% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 3,032,591 shares of the company’s stock valued at $180,894,000 after purchasing an additional 1,246,114 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Shares of Monster Beverage stock opened at $63.80 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.30 billion, a PE ratio of 39.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.54. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 52-week low of $45.70 and a 52-week high of $66.75. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.36.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.08 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 20.54% and a return on equity of 27.46%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.41 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MNST. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Roth Capital reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $60.00 target price (up previously from $56.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered shares of Monster Beverage from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $65.10.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In other Monster Beverage news, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 10,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.73, for a total value of $637,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 51,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,262,402.43. The trade was a 16.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 8.30% of the company’s stock.

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.