Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST)

Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage Co. (NASDAQ:MNST) by 12.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 7,347 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,027 shares during the quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc.’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $386,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MNST. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 109.3% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 22,559,092 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,176,913,000 after buying an additional 11,779,162 shares during the period. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 250.9% during the fourth quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 3,468,660 shares of the company’s stock worth $178,801,000 after buying an additional 2,480,291 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 6.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,742,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,760,341,000 after buying an additional 2,168,379 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter worth approximately $106,882,000. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the third quarter worth approximately $73,600,000. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MNST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $59.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup upped their price target on Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group upped their price target on Monster Beverage from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, BNP Paribas lowered their price target on Monster Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.83.

Monster Beverage Price Performance

Monster Beverage stock opened at $55.69 on Friday. Monster Beverage Co. has a 12 month low of $43.32 and a 12 month high of $61.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 3.13 and a quick ratio of 2.51. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $50.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $51.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.16 billion, a PE ratio of 35.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.74.

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

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In other Monster Beverage news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 91,316 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total value of $5,057,080.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 76,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,220,011.38. This represents a 54.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.65, for a total value of $526,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 74,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,944,748.60. The trade was a 11.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Profile

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.