National Pension Service Reduces Stock Position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

National Pension Service lowered its position in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 46.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,034,329 shares of the company’s stock after selling 883,281 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned about 0.11% of Monster Beverage worth $54,364,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MNST. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 62.5% in the 4th quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 528 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Monster Beverage by 16,085.7% in the 3rd quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 1,133 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 1,126 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MNST opened at $51.92 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 3.13 and a quick ratio of 2.51. Monster Beverage Co. has a 1 year low of $43.32 and a 1 year high of $61.22. The company has a market cap of $50.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.28, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.74. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $50.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.08.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.65, for a total transaction of $526,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,944,748.60. The trade was a 11.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 7.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MNST shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $52.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Needham & Company LLC initiated coverage on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Friday, December 6th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $59.00 price target on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Argus lifted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.53.

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.