Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Lowers Position in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund decreased its stake in shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 2.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 202,046 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,140 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund's holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $11,824,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Monster Beverage by 259.2% in the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 686 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 495 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC grew its holdings in Monster Beverage by 28.6% in the 1st quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the company's stock valued at $89,000 after buying an additional 338 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Monster Beverage by 541.6% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,713 shares of the company's stock valued at $90,000 after buying an additional 1,446 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MNST shares. TD Cowen upped their target price on Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Monster Beverage from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $62.05.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

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

Monster Beverage Trading Down 0.8%

MNST stock traded down $0.48 during trading on Friday, hitting $61.71. 8,486,341 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,005,150. The company has a 50-day moving average of $61.95 and a 200-day moving average of $56.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.18 billion, a PE ratio of 40.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.78 and a current ratio of 3.37. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 1 year low of $43.32 and a 1 year high of $64.45.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.01. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 27.46% and a net margin of 20.27%. The business had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.42 EPS. Monster Beverage's quarterly revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.