Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) Shares Sold by Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund cut its position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 60,042 shares of the company’s stock after selling 310 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $3,156,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 62.5% during the 4th quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Monster Beverage by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 13,578 shares of the company’s stock worth $714,000 after buying an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its stake in Monster Beverage by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 6,991 shares of the company’s stock valued at $367,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 1.3% in the third quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC now owns 17,821 shares of the company’s stock valued at $930,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sapient Capital LLC raised its holdings in Monster Beverage by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 46,082 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,422,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Stock Up 0.5 %

MNST opened at $51.92 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $50.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.08. Monster Beverage Co. has a 52 week low of $43.32 and a 52 week high of $61.22. The company has a market cap of $50.49 billion, a PE ratio of 33.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 3.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 23.31% and a net margin of 21.66%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MNST. Argus boosted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $59.00 price objective on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $61.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $52.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.53.

Insider Activity

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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,944,748.60. The trade was a 11.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Company 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.