HighTower Advisors LLC Purchases 245,922 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 15.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,789,507 shares of the coffee company’s stock after acquiring an additional 245,922 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned 0.16% of Starbucks worth $163,293,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Starbucks by 100.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,149,937 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,476,967,000 after purchasing an additional 7,598,146 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Starbucks by 55.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,779,859 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,928,339,000 after purchasing an additional 7,015,375 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Starbucks during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $284,283,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Starbucks by 1,491.4% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,808,571 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $256,282,000 after purchasing an additional 2,632,087 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its holdings in Starbucks by 1,078.5% during the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 2,545,419 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $248,153,000 after acquiring an additional 2,329,431 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Starbucks from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Starbucks from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Starbucks from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic restated a “sell” rating and set a $77.00 price objective (down previously from $84.00) on shares of Starbucks in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $105.75.

Starbucks Stock Down 1.5 %

Starbucks stock opened at $99.58 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $113.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.99. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $104.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $99.23. Starbucks Co. has a 52 week low of $71.55 and a 52 week high of $117.46.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.01. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 44.97% and a net margin of 9.73%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.90 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 2.99 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Company Profile

Starbucks Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a roaster, marketer, and retailer of coffee worldwide. The company operates through three segments: North America, International, and Channel Development. Its stores offer coffee and tea beverages, roasted whole beans and ground coffees, single serve products, and ready-to-drink beverages; and various food products, such as pastries, breakfast sandwiches, and lunch items.