Argent Capital Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Argent Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 33.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,236 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,090 shares during the period. Argent Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $221,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MNST. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 2.3% during the second quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 23,858 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,192,000 after purchasing an additional 532 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its stake in Monster Beverage by 156.8% during the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 114,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,764,000 after purchasing an additional 69,674 shares during the period. Cetera Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Monster Beverage by 128.1% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 20,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,217,000 after buying an additional 11,528 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Monster Beverage during the 1st quarter valued at $1,063,000. Finally, Swedbank AB increased its stake in Monster Beverage by 23.1% during the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 121,731 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,080,000 after acquiring an additional 22,823 shares during the period. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Monster Beverage Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ MNST traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $53.55. 1,380,529 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,979,398. The company has a market capitalization of $55.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 3.41, a quick ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Monster Beverage Co. has a 52-week low of $43.32 and a 52-week high of $61.22. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $50.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $51.09.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.04). Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 22.23% and a net margin of 22.84%. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.39 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MNST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 15th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $56.00 to $54.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $56.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.68.

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.