Natural Investments LLC Acquires Shares of 14,196 Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Natural Investments LLC bought a new stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 14,196 shares of the coffee company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,295,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Starbucks by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,974,407 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $4,482,045,000 after buying an additional 437,218 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Starbucks by 1.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,277,756 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $2,358,464,000 after buying an additional 333,004 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of 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 period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Starbucks by 100.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,149,937 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,476,967,000 after buying an additional 7,598,146 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Starbucks by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 11,916,777 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,087,406,000 after purchasing an additional 154,093 shares in the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SBUX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $77.00 price objective (down from $84.00) on shares of Starbucks in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Friday, January 24th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Starbucks from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Starbucks from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Three investment 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $105.75.

Starbucks Trading Down 5.0 %

Shares of Starbucks stock opened at $101.13 on Tuesday. 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 $114.87 billion, a PE ratio of 32.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.99. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $104.31 and its 200 day moving average is $99.19.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 earnings per share (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 last year, the business posted $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, 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.