William Blair Investment Management LLC Has $230.16 Million Position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

William Blair Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 5.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,607,828 shares of the company’s stock after selling 251,852 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.44% of Monster Beverage worth $230,161,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MNST. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 9.9% during the first quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. now owns 2,097 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in Monster Beverage by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $248,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its holdings in Monster Beverage by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 4,317 shares of the company’s stock worth $256,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its position in Monster Beverage by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 48,726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,434,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 1.7% during the first quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 13,307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $789,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Monster Beverage from $56.00 to $54.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $63.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.85.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

MNST stock opened at $50.83 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 3.41 and a quick ratio of 2.69. The stock has a market cap of $49.79 billion, a PE ratio of 31.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.74. Monster Beverage Co. has a one year low of $43.32 and a one year high of $61.22.

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

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.