Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Boosts Stake in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its holdings in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 17.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 338,778 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 51,358 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund's holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $19,517,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI increased its holdings in Monster Beverage by 50.6% in the 4th quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 96,383 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,553,000 after purchasing an additional 32,398 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 14,416 shares of the company's stock worth $831,000 after buying an additional 1,196 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 71,557 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,122,000 after buying an additional 538 shares in the last quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 272.5% in the 4th quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 1,542 shares of the company's stock valued at $89,000 after buying an additional 1,128 shares during the period. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake in Monster Beverage by 83.4% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,608 shares of the company's stock worth $150,000 after acquiring an additional 1,186 shares in the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on MNST shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $63.11.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Shares of MNST stock traded up $0.46 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $53.60. 4,316,057 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,354,125. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $57.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $55.57. Monster Beverage Co. has a 12-month low of $47.13 and a 12-month high of $61.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.72.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 20.95% and a net margin of 22.84%. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.28 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In other news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 659,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 777,840 shares of the company's stock, valued at $45,542,532. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 9.40% of the company's stock.

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.

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