Retirement Systems of Alabama Has $60.36 Million Holdings in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Retirement Systems of Alabama cut its stake in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,047,805 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,362 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned about 0.10% of Monster Beverage worth $60,364,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 30,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,782,000 after buying an additional 1,312 shares in the last quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter worth approximately $592,000. Syon Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 8,435 shares of the company’s stock worth $486,000 after buying an additional 1,217 shares in the last quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. increased its holdings in Monster Beverage by 211.5% during the 4th quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 7,975 shares of the company’s stock valued at $459,000 after purchasing an additional 5,415 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Monster Beverage by 315.9% during the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 79,885 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,602,000 after purchasing an additional 60,675 shares in the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MNST has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Monster Beverage from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 26th. UBS Group raised their price target on Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.79.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

MNST stock traded up $0.22 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $53.37. 4,204,563 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,588,323. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $56.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.64. The company has a market cap of $55.54 billion, a PE ratio of 34.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.72. Monster Beverage Co. has a one year low of $47.13 and a one year high of $61.22.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.38. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.76 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 20.95% and a net margin of 22.84%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.28 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.81 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Monster Beverage news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 659,000 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.55, for a total value of $38,584,450.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 777,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,542,532. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 9.40% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Company 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.