Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Lowers Position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC cut its stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 505,663 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 5,675 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $46,142,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SBUX. DecisionMap Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Starbucks during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $617,000. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 8,966 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $818,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares during the last quarter. Wintrust Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Wintrust Investments LLC now owns 1,411 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $128,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 21,212 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,935,000 after purchasing an additional 467 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Liberty Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Liberty Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,131 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $377,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SBUX has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Starbucks from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Starbucks from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $105.75.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of Starbucks stock opened at $98.11 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $111.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.65, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a fifty day moving average of $104.82 and a 200 day moving average of $99.22. Starbucks Co. has a fifty-two week low of $71.55 and a fifty-two week high of $117.46.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.01. Starbucks had a net margin of 9.73% and a negative return on equity of 44.97%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.90 EPS. Analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 2.99 EPS for the current year.

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.