Strs Ohio Trims Stock Holdings in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Strs Ohio lessened its stake in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 234,138 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,838 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $13,488,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Monster Beverage by 98.4% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 34,001,871 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,836,434,000 after purchasing an additional 16,863,544 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 1.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,005,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,397,411,000 after acquiring an additional 504,239 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Monster Beverage by 20.3% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 19,515,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,033,323,000 after buying an additional 3,296,466 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Monster Beverage by 103.0% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,361,510 shares of the company’s stock worth $773,729,000 after buying an additional 7,287,123 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in Monster Beverage by 10.0% during the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 10,071,948 shares of the company’s stock worth $804,749,000 after buying an additional 912,942 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ MNST opened at $54.69 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $56.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.72. Monster Beverage Co. has a 12-month low of $47.13 and a 12-month high of $61.22. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $57.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.51.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.38. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.76 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 20.95% and a net margin of 22.84%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.28 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on MNST. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Monster Beverage from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Monster Beverage from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.11.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In other news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 659,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.55, for a total value of $38,584,450.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 777,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,542,532. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 9.40% of the company’s stock.

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.