PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Purchases 13,171 Shares of Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 220,753 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,171 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $14,859,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the second quarter valued at $544,584,000. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its position in Monster Beverage by 4,877.8% during the 2nd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 7,283,879 shares of the company’s stock valued at $456,262,000 after purchasing an additional 7,137,552 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 467.0% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,849,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $422,996,000 after purchasing an additional 5,641,160 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $157,063,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 1,126.9% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,121,758 shares of the company’s stock valued at $132,907,000 after purchasing an additional 1,948,827 shares in the last quarter. 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. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price objective (up previously from $87.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $73.00 target price (up from $53.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $96.00 target price (up from $87.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Argus raised their target price on Monster Beverage from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane raised Monster Beverage from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $77.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 16th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $78.90.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

NASDAQ MNST opened at $83.18 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.26, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $78.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $71.34. Monster Beverage Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $50.93 and a fifty-two week high of $83.91.

Insider Activity at Monster Beverage

In related news, insider Emelie Tirre sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.31, for a total value of $2,199,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 63,939 shares in the company, valued at $4,687,368.09. The trade was a 31.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Rodney C. Sacks sold 206,543 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total transaction of $15,197,433.94. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 8.30% of the company’s stock.

About Monster Beverage

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.