M&T Bank Corp Trims Stake in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

M&T Bank Corp reduced its position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 71,367 shares of the company’s stock after selling 798 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $4,112,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 20.3% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 19,515,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,033,323,000 after acquiring an additional 3,296,466 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Monster Beverage by 3.3% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,638,653 shares of the company’s stock valued at $404,467,000 after buying an additional 243,401 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Monster Beverage by 6.2% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,211,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $278,238,000 after buying an additional 305,086 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Monster Beverage by 33.5% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,782,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $200,261,000 after buying an additional 948,133 shares during the period. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Monster Beverage by 61.5% during the third quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 3,431,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $181,713,000 after buying an additional 1,307,482 shares during the period. 72.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MNST. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Monster Beverage from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $66.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $65.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.32.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

NASDAQ MNST opened at $54.67 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $56.95 billion, a PE ratio of 34.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a fifty day moving average of $56.78 and a 200 day moving average of $55.92. Monster Beverage Co. has a 1 year low of $47.13 and a 1 year high of $61.22.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 22.83% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.38 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

In other Monster Beverage news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 659,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.55, for a total value of $38,584,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 777,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,542,532. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 9.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.