Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Cuts Holdings in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lowered its position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 310,223 shares of the company's stock after selling 12,866 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $16,305,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 62.5% in the 4th quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 528 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new position in Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 495 shares during the period. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Monster Beverage news, insider Guy Carling sold 47,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.02, for a total value of $2,585,940.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,993 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,210,054.86. The trade was a 68.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total transaction of $5,057,080.08. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 76,201 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,220,011.38. The trade was a 54.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 217,112 shares of company stock valued at $12,033,838. 7.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MNST traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $63.57. 1,194,577 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,839,937. Monster Beverage Co. has a 1-year low of $43.32 and a 1-year high of $64.45. The company has a quick ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 3.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a 50-day moving average of $59.78 and a 200 day moving average of $54.83.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 23.31%. 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 firm earned $0.42 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on MNST shares. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $67.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. CICC Research upgraded Monster Beverage from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the company from $56.00 to $65.00 in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Roth Mkm boosted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $60.81.

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.