Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) Shares Sold by Verdence Capital Advisors LLC

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC trimmed its position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 5,725 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 418 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $522,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp lifted its position in Starbucks by 1.0% in the third 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 during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Starbucks by 1.4% in 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 purchasing an additional 333,004 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in Starbucks by 55.0% in 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 lifted its position in Starbucks by 100.6% in the third 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 period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position 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 worth $1,087,406,000 after purchasing an additional 154,093 shares during the period. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Starbucks Trading Down 5.6 %

NASDAQ SBUX opened at $105.47 on Friday. Starbucks Co. has a 1-year low of $71.55 and a 1-year high of $117.46. The company has a market capitalization of $119.80 billion, a PE ratio of 34.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.99. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $103.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $98.94.

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 in the prior year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Starbucks Co. will post 2.99 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on SBUX. UBS Group upped their target price on Starbucks from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus increased 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Starbucks from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Wedbush increased their price objective on Starbucks from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Starbucks from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Three equities research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.