Arizona State Retirement System Acquires 4,788 Shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST)

Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) by 2.3% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 213,939 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,788 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $12,520,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MNST. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 259.2% during the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 686 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 495 shares in the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. CVA Family Office LLC raised its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 28.6% during the 1st quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the company’s stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 338 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Menard Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter valued at $101,000. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Monster Beverage Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of MNST stock opened at $58.83 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $62.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.84. The company has a current ratio of 3.37, a quick ratio of 2.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market cap of $57.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.70, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.59. Monster Beverage Corporation has a twelve month low of $43.32 and a twelve month high of $64.45.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last posted its 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 net margin of 20.27% and a return on equity of 27.46%. The company had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.42 earnings per share. Monster Beverage’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In related news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 27,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.40, for a total transaction of $1,711,800.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 8,796 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 89,501 shares in the company, valued at $5,590,232.46. The trade was a 8.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 7.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on MNST shares. Roth Capital increased their price target on Monster Beverage from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Thursday, June 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $72.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Monster Beverage currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.87.

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.