Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Has $9.14 Million Stock Holdings in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 14.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 173,877 shares of the company’s stock after selling 28,324 shares during the quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $9,139,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,214,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Monster Beverage by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 154,125 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,101,000 after purchasing an additional 7,780 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 251,570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,124,000 after purchasing an additional 15,611 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in Monster Beverage by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 151,364 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,897,000 after purchasing an additional 9,496 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Miracle Mile Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth about $7,090,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of MNST opened at $55.69 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $54.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.70, a PEG 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. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $50.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $51.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 3.13 and a quick ratio of 2.51.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.02). Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 23.31% and a net margin of 21.66%. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Monster Beverage news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 11.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total transaction of $5,057,080.08. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 76,201 shares in the company, valued at $4,220,011.38. This trade represents a 54.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 7.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MNST shares. Argus lifted their target price on Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. BNP Paribas decreased their price objective on Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup upped their target price on Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.83.

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.