Blair William & Co. IL Sells 55,999 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Blair William & Co. IL reduced its holdings in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,287,827 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 55,999 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $117,514,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SBUX. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Starbucks during the 3rd quarter valued at $115,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,181,179 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $212,643,000 after buying an additional 357,046 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in Starbucks by 55.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,779,859 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,928,339,000 after buying an additional 7,015,375 shares in the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Starbucks by 20.3% in the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 7,646 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $745,000 after buying an additional 1,292 shares during the period. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Starbucks by 25.6% in the 3rd quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 7,667 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $748,000 after buying an additional 1,562 shares in the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Starbucks Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of Starbucks stock opened at $97.97 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $111.28 billion, a PE ratio of 31.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.99. Starbucks Co. has a 52 week low of $71.55 and a 52 week high of $117.46. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $105.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $99.47.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 prior year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Starbucks from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wedbush lifted their target price on Starbucks from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Starbucks from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Starbucks from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $106.12.

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.