Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST Stock: First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Boosts Holdings

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its position in shares of Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) by 399.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 33,613 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 26,880 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $1,399,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the second quarter worth $5,770,004,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Monster Beverage by 0.8% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 12,532,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $908,102,000 after purchasing an additional 99,168 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in Monster Beverage by 23.7% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 7,637,514 shares of the company’s stock valued at $553,414,000 after acquiring an additional 1,461,167 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 27.8% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,465,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $717,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,624,416 shares during the period. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the 2nd quarter valued at $593,075,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $83.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $53.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Monster Beverage from $106.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Evercore reduced their target price on Monster Beverage from $95.00 to $52.00 in a report on Thursday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.07.

Monster Beverage Trading Up 2.5%

NASDAQ:MNST opened at $45.34 on Friday. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 1 year low of $32.94 and a 1 year high of $50.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.82 billion, a PE ratio of 41.98, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.49. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $44.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.09.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.02. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 23.08% and a return on equity of 26.02%. The business had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.26 earnings per share. Monster Beverage’s revenue was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Monster Beverage

Monster Beverage Corporation is a beverage company that develops, markets, and distributes energy drinks and related alternative beverages. Its flagship Monster Energy brand offers a range of energy drinks in multiple flavors and formulations, including products designed for performance, focus, and lifestyle-oriented consumption.

The company’s portfolio also includes brands such as Reign, NOS, Full Throttle, Burn, and Mother, along with other energy and beverage products sold under regional or strategic brand arrangements.