Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) Shares Sold by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System trimmed its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 7.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 993,849 shares of the company's stock after selling 85,627 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.10% of Monster Beverage worth $52,237,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 109.3% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter worth about $442,642,000. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 250.9% in the fourth 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 period. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 6.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,742,390 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,760,341,000 after buying an additional 2,168,379 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter valued at about $106,882,000. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In other news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total transaction of $5,057,080.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 76,201 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,220,011.38. The trade was a 54.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.27, for a total transaction of $552,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 72,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,994,528.71. This represents a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 208,316 shares of company stock valued at $11,484,440 in the last quarter. Insiders own 7.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MNST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $59.00 price objective on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $56.11.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Shares of MNST traded down $2.57 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $57.08. The stock had a trading volume of 10,386,288 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,004,753. Monster Beverage Co. has a fifty-two week low of $43.32 and a fifty-two week high of $61.66. The company has a quick ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 3.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market cap of $55.55 billion, a PE ratio of 36.59, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.71. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $53.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $52.63.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current 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.