10,500 Shares in Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST Acquired by Westerkirk Capital Inc.

Westerkirk Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 10,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $658,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MNST. Blair William & Co. IL grew its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 41.4% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 15,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $931,000 after purchasing an additional 4,661 shares during the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG lifted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 284.6% during the 1st quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 13,839 shares of the company’s stock valued at $801,000 after purchasing an additional 10,241 shares during the last quarter. Allianz SE acquired a new position in Monster Beverage in the first quarter valued at about $163,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Monster Beverage during the first quarter worth about $2,398,000. Finally, Advyzon Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Monster Beverage during the first quarter worth about $214,000. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MNST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $81.00 target price (up previously from $74.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Friday, November 7th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Monster Beverage from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Monster Beverage from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Monster Beverage to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Monster Beverage news, insider Guy Carling sold 38,438 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 13th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,568,760.69. This trade represents a 63.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 8.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Monster Beverage Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of MNST stock opened at $74.71 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $69.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.01. The firm has a market cap of $72.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.40, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.53. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 12 month low of $45.70 and a 12 month high of $76.28.

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

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.