New York State Teachers Retirement System Reduces Stock Position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

New York State Teachers Retirement System cut its stake in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 598,498 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,706 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $31,457,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings 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 worth $1,760,341,000 after buying an additional 2,168,379 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 27,142,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,416,048,000 after acquiring an additional 1,229,789 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position 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 during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,728,086 shares of the company’s stock worth $817,490,000 after purchasing an additional 473,418 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Monster Beverage by 18.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,898,127 shares of the company’s stock worth $203,365,000 after purchasing an additional 596,078 shares during the period. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on MNST shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Argus raised their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $59.00 price objective on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Friday, December 6th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.53.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In other news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.65, for a total value of $526,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,924 shares in the company, valued at $3,944,748.60. The trade was a 11.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 7.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Monster Beverage Stock Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ MNST opened at $49.25 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $50.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $50.98. Monster Beverage Co. has a one year low of $43.32 and a one year high of $61.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a current ratio of 3.13. The company has a market capitalization of $47.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.74.

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.