AIA Group Ltd Increases Stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

AIA Group Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 7.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 90,717 shares of the coffee company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,303 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $8,278,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SBUX. Wintrust Investments LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 94 shares during the period. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel raised its stake in Starbucks by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel now owns 4,240 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $387,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC boosted its position in shares of Starbucks by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC now owns 1,265 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $115,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Mystic Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,665 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $243,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jmac Enterprises LLC lifted its stake in Starbucks by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Jmac Enterprises LLC now owns 9,995 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $912,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on SBUX. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wedbush increased their target price on shares of Starbucks from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Starbucks from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Starbucks from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.12.

Starbucks Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of SBUX opened at $97.73 on Monday. Starbucks Co. has a 12 month low of $71.55 and a 12 month high of $117.46. The stock has a market cap of $111.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.53, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $105.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $99.55.

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

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.