National Pension Service Increases Holdings in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

National Pension Service lifted its position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,703,866 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 47,602 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $98,160,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Headinvest LLC bought a new stake in Monster Beverage during the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Monster Beverage in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 34.6% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 774 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC boosted its stake in Monster Beverage by 40.8% in the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,180 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MNST shares. Truist Financial downgraded Monster Beverage from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their target price for the company from $65.00 to $46.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Monster Beverage from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $59.00 in a report on Thursday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Monster Beverage from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.32.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 659,000 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 777,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,542,532. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 9.40% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Shares of Monster Beverage stock traded up $0.70 on Thursday, hitting $55.00. The stock had a trading volume of 1,759,219 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,550,337. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $56.78 and a 200 day moving average of $55.92. Monster Beverage Co. has a twelve month low of $47.13 and a twelve month high of $61.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.15, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.74.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 22.83%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.38 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current year.

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.