Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) Holdings Lowered by Kentucky Retirement Systems

Kentucky Retirement Systems trimmed its stake in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 5.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,100 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,005 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $3,326,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 59.9% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 132,086 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,609,000 after purchasing an additional 49,495 shares in the last quarter. Alaethes Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,528,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter valued at about $7,340,000. Defender Capital LLC. grew its holdings in Monster Beverage by 30.2% in the 4th quarter. Defender Capital LLC. now owns 371,077 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,378,000 after buying an additional 86,050 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $517,035,000. 72.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Hilton H. Schlosberg sold 42,144 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.00, for a total value of $2,233,632.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,875,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $99,404,574. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 250,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.22, for a total transaction of $13,055,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 532,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,820,413.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Hilton H. Schlosberg sold 42,144 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.00, for a total value of $2,233,632.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,875,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $99,404,574. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 307,221 shares of company stock valued at $16,070,374. Company insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Stock Up 1.8 %

MNST traded up $0.90 during trading on Friday, hitting $51.00. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,803,316 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,717,264. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $50.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.37. Monster Beverage Co. has a 12 month low of $47.13 and a 12 month high of $61.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.76.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 22.83% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.38 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MNST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Monster Beverage from $66.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Monster Beverage from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 14th. Roth Mkm reduced their price objective on Monster Beverage from $59.00 to $56.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Truist Financial downgraded Monster Beverage from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $65.00 to $46.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Monster Beverage from $58.00 to $56.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Monster Beverage has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.33.

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.