First Horizon Advisors Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 34.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,893 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,493 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $152,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,742,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,760,341,000 after purchasing an additional 2,168,379 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its position in Monster Beverage by 4.7% during the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 27,142,970 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,416,048,000 after buying an additional 1,229,789 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in Monster Beverage by 109.3% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 22,559,092 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,176,913,000 after buying an additional 11,779,162 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Monster Beverage by 3.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,728,086 shares of the company’s stock worth $817,490,000 after acquiring an additional 473,418 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 18.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,898,127 shares of the company’s stock worth $203,365,000 after acquiring an additional 596,078 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

In related news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.65, for a total value of $526,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,944,748.60. This trade represents a 11.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 7.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Monster Beverage Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of Monster Beverage stock opened at $51.64 on Thursday. Monster Beverage Co. has a twelve month low of $43.32 and a twelve month high of $61.22. The company has a quick ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 3.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $50.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $51.08. The firm has a market cap of $50.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.10, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.74.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MNST shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Monster Beverage from $52.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Argus boosted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, BNP Paribas reduced their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.53.

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.