Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCRI) Shares Sold by Aviva PLC

Aviva PLC trimmed its holdings in Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCRI – Get Rating) by 53.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,501 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,192 shares during the period. Aviva PLC’s holdings in Monarch Casino & Resort were worth $961,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCRI. Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort by 33.8% in the 4th quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 9,034 shares of the company’s stock worth $695,000 after purchasing an additional 2,282 shares during the period. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort by 212.3% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 4,554 shares of the company’s stock worth $350,000 after purchasing an additional 3,096 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 34,211 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,630,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort by 113.3% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 14,443 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,111,000 after purchasing an additional 7,673 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 3,997 shares of the company’s stock worth $307,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. 61.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Monarch Casino & Resort Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MCRI opened at $67.67 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.24 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.50. Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. has a one year low of $54.01 and a one year high of $85.67. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $71.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $76.12.

Insider Activity at Monarch Casino & Resort

In related news, President Bob Farahi sold 3,509 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.05, for a total transaction of $235,278.45. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 223,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,984,803.35. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 24.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on MCRI. StockNews.com began coverage on Monarch Casino & Resort in a report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Monarch Casino & Resort from $85.00 to $91.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 15th. Finally, TheStreet downgraded Monarch Casino & Resort from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, February 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.00.

About Monarch Casino & Resort

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Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc engages in the ownership and operation of the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa, a hotel and casino facility in Reno, Nevada, and the Monarch Black Hawk Casino in Black Hawk, Colorado. The company was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Reno, NV.