23,620 Shares in Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST Purchased by Virtus Investment Advisers LLC

Virtus Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 23,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,480,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Tejara Capital Ltd bought a new position in Monster Beverage during the 2nd quarter worth about $990,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Monster Beverage during the 2nd quarter worth $544,584,000. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage in the second quarter worth about $462,000. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its stake in Monster Beverage by 131.6% in the 2nd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 19,578 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,208,000 after purchasing an additional 11,126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 0.7% in the second quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 756,433 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,383,000 after buying an additional 5,580 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Monster Beverage news, insider Guy Carling sold 38,438 shares of Monster Beverage stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.33, for a total value of $2,741,782.54. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 21,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,568,760.69. This trade represents a 63.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 8.30% of the company’s stock.

Monster Beverage Stock Performance

Monster Beverage stock opened at $75.04 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $73.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.61, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.53. Monster Beverage Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $45.70 and a fifty-two week high of $75.27. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $64.68.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.08. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 20.54% and a return on equity of 27.46%. The firm had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.41 EPS. Monster Beverage’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MNST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Monster Beverage from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $79.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $81.00 price objective (up from $74.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Monday. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Monster Beverage from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.62.

Monster Beverage Company 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.