Strs Ohio Has $13.49 Million Holdings in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Strs Ohio cut its stake in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 234,138 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,838 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $13,488,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in Monster Beverage by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 10,286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $822,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its position in Monster Beverage by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 2,537 shares of the company’s stock valued at $203,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Delta Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Monster Beverage by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Delta Financial Advisors LLC now owns 19,168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,015,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its position in Monster Beverage by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 3,659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $211,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Monster Beverage by 34.6% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 774 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MNST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Monster Beverage from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Monster Beverage in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Monster Beverage from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.11.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of MNST stock opened at $54.69 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $56.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.51. Monster Beverage Co. has a 1 year low of $47.13 and a 1 year high of $61.22.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $1.76 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.28 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.81 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

In other Monster Beverage news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 659,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.55, for a total transaction of $38,584,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 777,840 shares in the company, valued at $45,542,532. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company 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.