New York State Teachers Retirement System Decreases Position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

New York State Teachers Retirement System lowered its stake in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 657,758 shares of the company’s stock after selling 64,076 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.06% of Monster Beverage worth $32,855,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in Monster Beverage by 59.9% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 132,086 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,609,000 after buying an additional 49,495 shares in the last quarter. Alaethes Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,528,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $517,035,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in Monster Beverage by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 10,268 shares of the company’s stock valued at $590,000 after buying an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in Monster Beverage by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,904,636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $224,946,000 after buying an additional 50,454 shares in the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $61.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Roth Mkm lowered their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $56.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $63.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Monster Beverage has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.85.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Monster Beverage news, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 15,077 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.85, for a total value of $781,742.45. Following the sale, the director now owns 68,167 shares in the company, valued at $3,534,458.95. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Monster Beverage news, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 15,077 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.85, for a total value of $781,742.45. Following the sale, the director now owns 68,167 shares in the company, valued at $3,534,458.95. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark J. Hall sold 250,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.22, for a total transaction of $13,055,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 532,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,820,413.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 307,221 shares of company stock worth $16,070,374. 7.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MNST opened at $46.65 on Friday. Monster Beverage Co. has a 1 year low of $43.32 and a 1 year high of $61.22. The company’s 50-day moving average is $49.26 and its 200 day moving average is $53.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.76.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.01 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 22.83% and a return on equity of 20.74%. Monster Beverage’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.39 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.75 earnings per share 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.