Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Sells 1,367 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lowered its stake in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 27,505 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 1,367 shares during the quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $2,510,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Starbucks during the fourth quarter worth about $1,244,812,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 100.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,149,937 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,476,967,000 after acquiring an additional 7,598,146 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the 4th quarter worth approximately $284,283,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Starbucks by 1,491.4% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new position in Starbucks during the third quarter valued at approximately $126,574,000. Institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on SBUX shares. Argus raised Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Starbucks from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of Starbucks from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $106.12.

Starbucks Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $97.73 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $111.01 billion, a PE ratio of 31.53, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.99. Starbucks Co. has a fifty-two week low of $71.55 and a fifty-two week high of $117.46. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $105.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $99.54.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 last year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. Research analysts predict that Starbucks Co. will post 2.99 EPS for the current year.

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.