Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Sells 50,331 Shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund reduced its position in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 19.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 207,186 shares of the company’s stock after selling 50,331 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $10,890,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Monster Beverage by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,742,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,760,341,000 after buying an additional 2,168,379 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its holdings in Monster Beverage by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 27,142,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,416,048,000 after purchasing an additional 1,229,789 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in Monster Beverage by 109.3% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 22,559,092 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,176,913,000 after purchasing an additional 11,779,162 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Monster Beverage by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,728,086 shares of the company’s stock worth $817,490,000 after purchasing an additional 473,418 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Monster Beverage by 18.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,898,127 shares of the company’s stock worth $203,365,000 after purchasing an additional 596,078 shares in the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In other news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.65, for a total value of $526,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 74,924 shares in the company, valued at $3,944,748.60. This represents a 11.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

MNST opened at $52.13 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a current ratio of 3.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.74. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $50.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $51.07. Monster Beverage Co. has a 52-week low of $43.32 and a 52-week high of $61.22.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on MNST shares. Needham & Company LLC started coverage on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Friday, December 6th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $61.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $52.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.53.

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.