Sentry Investment Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Sentry Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 14.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,669 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 1,411 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $791,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Starbucks by 100.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 7,598,146 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised 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 worth $256,282,000 after buying an additional 2,632,087 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its stake 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 worth $248,153,000 after buying an additional 2,329,431 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the third quarter valued at approximately $126,574,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $113.19 on Tuesday. Starbucks Co. has a 12-month low of $71.55 and a 12-month high of $114.68. The company has a market cap of $128.57 billion, a PE ratio of 36.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $100.13 and a 200 day moving average of $97.72.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted 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 net margin of 9.73% and a negative return on equity of 44.97%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.90 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Starbucks Co. will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SBUX. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Monday, November 11th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Starbucks from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Starbucks from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Starbucks from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $105.33.

Starbucks 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.