Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Has $1.45 Million Holdings in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund reduced its stake in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 7.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,378 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,939 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $1,445,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Monster Beverage by 360.0% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 506 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 396 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the 1st quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 187.6% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 716 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 467 shares during the period. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 15,077 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.85, for a total transaction of $781,742.45. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 68,167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,534,458.95. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 15,077 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.85, for a total transaction of $781,742.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 68,167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,534,458.95. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark J. Hall sold 250,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.22, for a total value of $13,055,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 532,754 shares in the company, valued at $27,820,413.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 307,221 shares of company stock valued at $16,070,374. Company insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Monster Beverage from $63.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $66.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $64.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Monday, July 1st. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $61.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $48.00 price objective on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $59.33.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MNST traded up $0.90 on Friday, hitting $51.00. The stock had a trading volume of 3,803,316 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,717,264. Monster Beverage Co. has a 1 year low of $47.13 and a 1 year high of $61.22. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $50.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $54.37. The stock has a market cap of $53.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.76.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 22.83% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.38 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.75 EPS for the current year.

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.