Dearborn Partners LLC Cuts Stock Position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Dearborn Partners LLC reduced its position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 54,144 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 656 shares during the quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $4,941,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings 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 worth $4,482,045,000 after purchasing an additional 437,218 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,277,756 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $2,358,464,000 after purchasing an additional 333,004 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 55.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,779,859 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,928,339,000 after acquiring an additional 7,015,375 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake 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 valued at $1,476,967,000 after acquiring an additional 7,598,146 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 11,916,777 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,087,406,000 after acquiring an additional 154,093 shares during the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $101.13 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $114.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.99. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $104.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $99.19. Starbucks Co. has a 52-week low of $71.55 and a 52-week high of $117.46.

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 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 company posted $0.90 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 2.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SBUX shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Wedbush boosted their target price on Starbucks from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Redburn Atlantic reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $77.00 target price (down previously from $84.00) on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Starbucks from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $105.75.

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.