New York State Teachers Retirement System Sells 37,025 Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

New York State Teachers Retirement System reduced its position in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 748,015 shares of the company's stock after selling 37,025 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.07% of Monster Beverage worth $43,093,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MNST. Freedom Wealth Alliance LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Quarry LP grew its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 276.1% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 504 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.36% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup boosted their price target on Monster Beverage from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $62.55.

Monster Beverage Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of MNST traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $55.90. The stock had a trading volume of 4,820,652 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,132,170. Monster Beverage Co. has a 52 week low of $47.13 and a 52 week high of $61.22. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $57.42 and a 200 day moving average of $55.46. The company has a market cap of $58.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.72.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 22.84% and a return on equity of 20.95%. The business had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.76 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.28 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In related news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 659,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.55, for a total value of $38,584,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 777,840 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $45,542,532. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 9.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.