Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) Shares Sold by Banco Santander S.A.

Banco Santander S.A. reduced its stake in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 14.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 53,032 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 8,989 shares during the quarter. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $4,839,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its position in Starbucks by 6.0% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 45,446 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $4,431,000 after buying an additional 2,590 shares during the last quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Starbucks during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $241,000. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS boosted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 26,116 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $2,546,000 after acquiring an additional 994 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the third quarter worth $71,000. Finally, Fiera Capital Corp raised its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 13.8% during the third quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 50,753 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $4,948,000 after purchasing an additional 6,163 shares during the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Starbucks Price Performance

SBUX stock opened at $106.48 on Friday. Starbucks Co. has a 1 year low of $71.55 and a 1 year high of $117.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $120.95 billion, a PE ratio of 34.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $104.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $99.08.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $0.90 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 2.99 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on SBUX. Redburn Atlantic reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $77.00 price target (down from $84.00) on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Starbucks from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a report on Friday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a report on Monday, November 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $105.75.

About Starbucks

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.