Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) Shares Sold by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lowered its stake in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 7.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,222 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,046 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $2,009,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MNST. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 109.3% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 22,559,092 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,176,913,000 after acquiring an additional 11,779,162 shares during the last quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. boosted its stake in Monster Beverage by 250.9% in the 4th quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 3,468,660 shares of the company’s stock worth $178,801,000 after buying an additional 2,480,291 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Monster Beverage by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,742,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,760,341,000 after buying an additional 2,168,379 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter worth about $106,882,000. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage in the 3rd quarter worth about $73,600,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Monster Beverage news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.50, for a total value of $654,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 296,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,178,107. This represents a 3.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Guy Carling sold 47,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.02, for a total value of $2,585,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,210,054.86. The trade was a 68.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 208,316 shares of company stock valued at $11,484,440. Corporate insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $59.00 price target on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. BNP Paribas decreased their price target on Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group raised their price target on Monster Beverage from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.83.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Monster Beverage stock opened at $57.31 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $51.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $52.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.77 billion, a PE ratio of 36.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a current ratio of 3.13. Monster Beverage Co. has a one year low of $43.32 and a one year high of $60.13.

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