Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) Shares Purchased by National Pension Service

National Pension Service boosted its stake in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,703,866 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 47,602 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned about 0.16% of Monster Beverage worth $98,160,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 20.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 19,515,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,033,323,000 after buying an additional 3,296,466 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Monster Beverage by 61.5% in the 3rd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 3,431,785 shares of the company’s stock worth $181,713,000 after buying an additional 1,307,482 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 33.5% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,782,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $200,261,000 after purchasing an additional 948,133 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Monster Beverage by 32.2% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,823,265 shares of the company’s stock valued at $149,492,000 after acquiring an additional 686,889 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV boosted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 78.2% in the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 1,230,778 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,170,000 after purchasing an additional 540,285 shares in the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

Shares of Monster Beverage stock traded up $0.70 on Thursday, hitting $55.00. 1,759,219 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,550,337. Monster Beverage Co. has a one year low of $47.13 and a one year high of $61.22. The company has a fifty day moving average of $56.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $55.92. The company has a market capitalization of $57.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.74.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 22.83%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.38 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage Co. will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MNST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Monster Beverage from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $66.00 to $59.00 in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Monster Beverage from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. HSBC lowered their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.32.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monster Beverage

In other news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 659,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were 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 owns 777,840 shares in the company, valued at $45,542,532. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 9.40% of the company’s stock.

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.