Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Acquires New Holdings in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 20,549 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,203,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,112,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $897,012,000 after purchasing an additional 1,383,914 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Monster Beverage by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,590,994 shares of the company's stock valued at $451,543,000 after purchasing an additional 734,406 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter valued at about $442,642,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,357,921 shares of the company's stock worth $386,732,000 after buying an additional 825,489 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,406,131 shares of the company's stock worth $284,146,000 after buying an additional 493,914 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.36% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In other news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 27,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.40, for a total value of $1,711,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 69,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,391,908.20. The trade was a 28.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 8,796 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.46, for a total transaction of $549,398.16. Following the sale, the insider now owns 89,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,590,232.46. This represents a 8.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 8.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MNST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. CICC Research upgraded shares of Monster Beverage from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $56.00 to $65.00 in a report on Monday, May 12th. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Monster Beverage from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $62.05.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Monster Beverage stock traded down $0.48 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $61.71. The stock had a trading volume of 8,466,737 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,021,321. The company has a market capitalization of $60.18 billion, a PE ratio of 40.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 3.37, a quick ratio of 2.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm's fifty day moving average is $61.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.06. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 52-week low of $43.32 and a 52-week high of $64.45.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.97 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 27.46% and a net margin of 20.27%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.42 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Corporation 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.