Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) Shares Bought by Arizona State Retirement System

Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 2.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 213,939 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 4,788 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System's holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $12,520,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MNST. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Monster Beverage by 33.4% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,569 shares of the company's stock worth $293,000 after purchasing an additional 1,395 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth approximately $172,000. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 63.1% during the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 6,412 shares of the company's stock worth $337,000 after purchasing an additional 2,480 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Monster Beverage by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 57,289 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,011,000 after buying an additional 1,518 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in Monster Beverage by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 67,480 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,547,000 after buying an additional 1,763 shares during the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 1.4%

NASDAQ MNST traded up $0.84 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $59.67. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,659,975 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,160,123. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 3.37 and a quick ratio of 2.78. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 52-week low of $43.32 and a 52-week high of $64.45. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $62.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.84.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last released 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 company had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 20.27% and a return on equity of 27.46%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.42 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MNST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on Monster Beverage from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Roth Capital boosted their target price 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. Rothschild & Co Redburn cut shares of Monster Beverage from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $60.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $61.87.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 27,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.40, for a total transaction of $1,711,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 69,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,391,908.20. The trade was a 28.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 8,796 shares of the company'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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 89,501 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,590,232.46. This trade represents a 8.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 7.80% of the company's stock.

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.