Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST Shares Sold by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

Key Points

• The State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D has reduced its holdings in Monster Beverage Corporation by 6.9%, owning 254,775 shares valued at approximately $14.9 million after selling 18,860 shares.
• Recent earnings results show that Monster Beverage beat analysts' expectations with $0.52 earnings per share and revenue of $2.11 billion, reflecting an 11.1% year-over-year increase.
• Multiple research firms, including UBS and Citigroup, have upgraded their price targets for Monster Beverage, with the current consensus rating being "Hold" and an average price target of $65.10.

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lowered its position in shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 6.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 254,775 shares of the company's stock after selling 18,860 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $14,909,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Twin Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 11.6% in the 1st quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,213 shares of the company's stock valued at $305,000 after acquiring an additional 540 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Monster Beverage by 2.4% during the first quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 315,704 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,475,000 after purchasing an additional 7,465 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Monster Beverage by 76.2% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 66,906 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,915,000 after purchasing an additional 28,932 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Monster Beverage by 0.9% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,289,392 shares of the company's stock valued at $75,455,000 after purchasing an additional 11,443 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Monster Beverage by 3.8% in the first quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 423,548 shares of the company's stock worth $24,786,000 after purchasing an additional 15,493 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.36% of the company's stock.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

MNST traded up $0.40 on Wednesday, reaching $64.39. 4,952,222 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,180,948. The company's 50-day moving average price is $61.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.87 billion, a PE ratio of 39.99, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.55. Monster Beverage Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $45.70 and a fifty-two week high of $66.75.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.04. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 27.46% and a net margin of 20.54%.The firm had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.08 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.41 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

In other news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 27,000 shares of the company's 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 directly owned 69,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,391,908.20. This represents a 28.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.73, for a total transaction of $637,300.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 51,191 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,262,402.43. This trade represents a 16.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 7.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MNST shares. Roth Capital restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $60.00 price target (up from $56.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Rothschild & Co Redburn cut Monster Beverage from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $60.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $65.10.

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.