Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Cuts Position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System trimmed its holdings in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 6.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 60,806 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 4,541 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $5,549,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased 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 buying an additional 7,598,146 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Starbucks by 55.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,779,859 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,928,339,000 after acquiring an additional 7,015,375 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Starbucks in the 4th quarter worth about $284,283,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Starbucks by 1,491.4% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,808,571 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $256,282,000 after acquiring an additional 2,632,087 shares during the period. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its holdings in Starbucks by 1,078.5% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 2,545,419 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $248,153,000 after purchasing an additional 2,329,431 shares during the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Starbucks from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Starbucks from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Starbucks in a report on Friday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Starbucks from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Wedbush raised their target price on Starbucks from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $106.12.

Starbucks Price Performance

Shares of SBUX opened at $99.19 on Thursday. Starbucks Co. has a 1 year low of $71.55 and a 1 year high of $117.46. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $105.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $99.30. The firm has a market cap of $112.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.99.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 previous year, the business posted $0.90 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Starbucks Co. will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current 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.