Alliancebernstein L.P. Cuts Stake in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Alliancebernstein L.P. cut its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 17.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 40,331,809 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,739,567 shares during the quarter. Monster Beverage makes up 0.7% of Alliancebernstein L.P.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $2,119,840,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter worth $1,214,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 154,125 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,101,000 after buying an additional 7,780 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 6.6% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 251,570 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,124,000 after buying an additional 15,611 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at about $7,090,000. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage during the 3rd quarter valued at about $630,000. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MNST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup lifted 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. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. BNP Paribas decreased their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.83.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

MNST opened at $57.86 on Monday. Monster Beverage Co. has a 12-month low of $43.32 and a 12-month high of $59.56. The company has a market cap of $56.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 3.13, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.41.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 23.31% and a net margin of 21.66%. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. Research analysts predict that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.27, for a total value of $552,700.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 72,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,994,528.71. This represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Mark J. Hall sold 12,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.50, for a total value of $654,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 296,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,178,107. This represents a 3.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 208,316 shares of company stock worth $11,484,440 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 7.80% 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.