Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co Has $4.33 Million Stock Position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co reduced its position in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 37.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 82,435 shares of the company’s stock after selling 50,000 shares during the quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $4,333,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MNST. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at about $442,642,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in Monster Beverage by 659.1% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 4,872,972 shares of the company’s stock valued at $251,445,000 after buying an additional 4,231,063 shares during the period. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 250.9% in the fourth quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 3,468,660 shares of the company’s stock valued at $178,801,000 after buying an additional 2,480,291 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted 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 worth $1,760,341,000 after acquiring an additional 2,168,379 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the 4th quarter worth approximately $106,882,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MNST has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup raised their price target on Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. BNP Paribas reduced their price objective on Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Monster Beverage from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Monster Beverage currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Guy Carling sold 47,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.02, for a total transaction of $2,585,940.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 21,993 shares in the company, valued at $1,210,054.86. The trade was a 68.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total value of $5,057,080.08. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 76,201 shares in the company, valued at $4,220,011.38. The trade was a 54.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 208,316 shares of company stock worth $11,484,440 in the last three months. 7.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Monster Beverage Trading Down 4.3 %

Shares of MNST stock opened at $57.08 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a current ratio of 3.13. Monster Beverage Co. has a fifty-two week low of $43.32 and a fifty-two week high of $60.34. The company has a market cap of $55.55 billion, a PE ratio of 36.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.71. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $53.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $52.68.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 23.31%. Equities analysts predict that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.