Korea Investment CORP Purchases 200,557 Shares of Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST

Key Points

• Korea Investment CORP increased its stake in Monster Beverage Corporation by 73.6%, acquiring an additional 200,557 shares to own a total of 473,150 shares, valued at approximately $27.69 million.
• Insider transactions include CFO Thomas J. Kelly selling 27,000 shares, resulting in a 28.05% decrease in his ownership, while Director Mark Vidergauz sold 10,000 shares with a 16.34% decrease in his stake.
• Monster Beverage reported earnings of $0.52 per share, exceeding estimates, and achieved a quarterly revenue of $2.11 billion, marking an 11.1% year-over-year increase.

Korea Investment CORP boosted its position in shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST - Free Report) by 73.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 473,150 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 200,557 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP's holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $27,689,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the 1st quarter worth about $497,157,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Monster Beverage by 5,095.6% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,063,351 shares of the company's stock worth $179,267,000 after purchasing an additional 3,004,391 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter worth approximately $110,942,000. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. increased its position in Monster Beverage by 54.7% during the first quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 5,366,126 shares of the company's stock worth $303,728,000 after buying an additional 1,897,466 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Monster Beverage by 5,880.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,254,259 shares of the company's stock valued at $73,399,000 after buying an additional 1,233,286 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 27,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.40, for a total transaction of $1,711,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 69,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,391,908.20. This represents a 28.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark Vidergauz sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.73, for a total value of $637,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 51,191 shares in the company, valued at $3,262,402.43. The trade was a 16.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 7.80% of the company's stock.

Monster Beverage Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:MNST opened at $63.99 on Wednesday. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 12-month low of $45.70 and a 12-month high of $66.75. The company's 50 day moving average price is $61.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.80. The firm has a market cap of $62.48 billion, a PE ratio of 39.75, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.55.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 20.54% and a return on equity of 27.46%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.41 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on MNST shares. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $68.00 target price on Monster Beverage and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. CICC Research raised shares of Monster Beverage from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $56.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered shares of Monster Beverage from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $65.10.

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.

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