Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp Acquires Shares of 2,063 Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 2,063 shares of the coffee company’s stock, valued at approximately $188,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SBUX. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake 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 worth $1,476,967,000 after acquiring an additional 7,598,146 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Starbucks by 55.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,779,859 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,928,339,000 after purchasing an additional 7,015,375 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Starbucks during the fourth quarter worth $284,283,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Starbucks by 1,491.4% in the fourth 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 increased its position in shares of Starbucks by 1,078.5% in the third 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 buying an additional 2,329,431 shares in the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on SBUX. Argus raised shares of Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Starbucks from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Starbucks from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays increased their target price on Starbucks from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Starbucks from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Starbucks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.12.

Starbucks Price Performance

Shares of SBUX opened at $97.97 on Thursday. Starbucks Co. has a 12 month low of $71.55 and a 12 month high of $117.46. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $105.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $99.47. The stock has a market cap of $111.28 billion, a PE ratio of 31.60, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.99.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 earnings per share 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.90 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Starbucks Co. will post 2.99 earnings per share 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.