California Public Employees Retirement System Has $52.24 Million Holdings in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

California Public Employees Retirement System trimmed its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 7.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 993,849 shares of the company’s stock after selling 85,627 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.10% of Monster Beverage worth $52,237,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MNST. Paloma Partners Management Co raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 260.2% in the third quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 20,742 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,082,000 after buying an additional 14,984 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its stake in Monster Beverage by 3,999.8% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 39,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,076,000 after acquiring an additional 38,838 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Monster Beverage by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 459,495 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,972,000 after acquiring an additional 23,906 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the 3rd quarter valued at $73,600,000. Finally, Hilltop Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the 3rd quarter worth $620,000. Institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on MNST shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $59.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. BNP Paribas reduced their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Monster Beverage from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

In other Monster Beverage news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.27, for a total transaction of $552,700.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 72,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,994,528.71. This represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total value of $5,057,080.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 76,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,220,011.38. This trade represents a 54.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 208,316 shares of company stock valued at $11,484,440. 7.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Shares of Monster Beverage stock opened at $59.04 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $57.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a quick ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 3.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Monster Beverage Co. has a twelve month low of $43.32 and a twelve month high of $59.07. The company’s fifty day moving average is $52.56 and its 200 day moving average is $52.53.

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

Monster Beverage Company 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.