Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) Shares Sold by Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund reduced its stake in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 7.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,378 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,939 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $1,445,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mutual Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter worth $213,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter worth about $266,000. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,645 shares of the company’s stock worth $440,000 after acquiring an additional 854 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC lifted its position in Monster Beverage by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 7,761 shares of the company’s stock valued at $447,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trueblood Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter worth about $202,000. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In other Monster Beverage news, CEO Hilton H. Schlosberg sold 42,144 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.00, for a total transaction 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 approximately $99,404,574. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 250,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $27,820,413.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Hilton H. Schlosberg sold 42,144 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.00, for a total transaction of $2,233,632.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,875,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,404,574. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 307,221 shares of company stock worth $16,070,374. 7.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of Monster Beverage stock traded up $0.90 on Friday, reaching $51.00. 3,803,316 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,717,264. Monster Beverage Co. has a fifty-two week low of $47.13 and a fifty-two week high of $61.22. The firm 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. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $50.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $54.37.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MNST. Citigroup cut their price target on Monster Beverage from $69.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. TD Cowen cut their target price on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $64.00 price target on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $65.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $59.33.

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.