Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC Sells 435 Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC trimmed its position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 6.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 435 shares during the quarter. Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $315,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake 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 worth $1,176,913,000 after acquiring an additional 11,779,162 shares during the last quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. increased its stake in Monster Beverage by 250.9% during the fourth quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 3,468,660 shares of the company’s stock worth $178,801,000 after acquiring an additional 2,480,291 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Monster Beverage by 1,148.0% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,596,888 shares of the company’s stock worth $135,480,000 after acquiring an additional 2,388,798 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Monster Beverage by 6.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,742,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,760,341,000 after acquiring an additional 2,168,379 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP bought a new stake in Monster Beverage during the third quarter worth approximately $73,600,000. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MNST shares. Needham & Company LLC started coverage on Monster Beverage in a research note on Friday, December 6th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Monster Beverage from $61.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $59.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on Monster Beverage from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.53.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MNST opened at $49.25 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $47.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.74. Monster Beverage Co. has a 52 week low of $43.32 and a 52 week 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $50.40 and a 200 day moving average of $50.99.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 74,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,944,748.60. The trade was a 11.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 7.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.