National Pension Service Has $81.17 Million Stake in Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST

National Pension Service trimmed its position in shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,058,680 shares of the company’s stock after selling 23,597 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $81,169,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 508.1% during the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 136.7% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 355 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 1,338.7% during the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 446 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the period. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MNST has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America cut their target price on Monster Beverage from $100.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Evercore increased their price target on Monster Beverage from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Monster Beverage from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $84.00 price target (up from $80.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Monster Beverage from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.89.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MNST opened at $88.08 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $86.14 billion, a PE ratio of 42.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.50. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $78.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $77.98. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 1 year low of $58.09 and a 1 year high of $89.85.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 26.86% and a net margin of 23.11%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.47 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Monster Beverage declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Friday, May 15th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 0.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

In other Monster Beverage news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 54,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.81, for a total value of $4,633,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 299,246 shares in the company, valued at $25,678,299.26. This represents a 15.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.81, for a total value of $614,670.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 62,553 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,492,778.93. This trade represents a 10.06% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 159,700 shares of company stock worth $13,730,462 in the last quarter. 8.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Monster Beverage Profile

Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ: MNST) is an American beverage company best known for its Monster Energy brand of energy drinks. The company’s product portfolio centers on carbonated energy beverages and a range of complementary ready-to-drink offerings, including energy coffees, hydration beverages and other flavored functional drinks. Monster markets multiple sub-brands and flavor variants to address different consumer segments and consumption occasions.

Originally organized around the Hansen’s Natural line of juices and sodas, the company pivoted toward the energy drink category and formally adopted the Monster Beverage name in the early 2010s to reflect its strategic focus.