Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Lowers Stock Position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado cut its stake in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 102,424 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,468 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $5,383,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MNST. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,112,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $897,012,000 after acquiring an additional 1,383,914 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,590,994 shares of the company’s stock worth $451,543,000 after purchasing an additional 734,406 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter worth about $442,642,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 659.1% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 4,872,972 shares of the company’s stock valued at $251,445,000 after buying an additional 4,231,063 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 21.0% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,716,603 shares of the company’s stock valued at $247,905,000 after buying an additional 818,476 shares in the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

Shares of MNST opened at $58.49 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $56.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.49, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $56.59 and a 200-day moving average of $53.53. The company has a current ratio of 3.13, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Monster Beverage Co. has a 52 week low of $43.32 and a 52 week high of $60.34.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last issued its 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). Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 23.31% and a net margin of 21.66%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on MNST. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $59.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $58.39.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In related news, insider Guy Carling sold 47,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.02, for a total transaction of $2,585,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 21,993 shares in the company, valued at $1,210,054.86. The trade was a 68.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total value of $5,057,080.08. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 76,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,220,011.38. This represents a 54.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 208,316 shares of company stock worth $11,484,440 in the last 90 days. 7.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.