Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) Shares Sold by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D decreased its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 273,635 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,430 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $14,382,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 109.3% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 22,559,092 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,176,913,000 after acquiring an additional 11,779,162 shares during the period. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. raised its stake in Monster Beverage by 250.9% during the fourth quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 3,468,660 shares of the company’s stock worth $178,801,000 after purchasing an additional 2,480,291 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 1,148.0% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,596,888 shares of the company’s stock valued at $135,480,000 after purchasing an additional 2,388,798 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of 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 period. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the 3rd quarter worth $73,600,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on MNST. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $59.00 price objective on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. BNP Paribas cut their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. 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 research note on Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $52.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.53.

Monster Beverage Trading Down 0.5 %

Monster Beverage stock opened at $49.25 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $50.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $50.97. The company has a quick ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 3.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Monster Beverage Co. has a 12 month low of $43.32 and a 12 month high of $61.22. The stock has a market cap of $47.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.74.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.