Atala Financial Inc Invests $226,000 in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,481 shares of the coffee company’s stock, valued at approximately $226,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Starbucks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in Starbucks by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 327,459 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $29,881,000 after acquiring an additional 2,722 shares in the last quarter. West Michigan Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Starbucks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $265,000. Wernau Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Starbucks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $258,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp of Ontario raised its holdings in Starbucks by 48.6% in the third quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 37,584 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $3,664,000 after acquiring an additional 12,300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on SBUX shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Three equities research 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. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $105.75.

Starbucks Price Performance

NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $98.11 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $104.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $99.22. Starbucks Co. has a 1-year low of $71.55 and a 1-year high of $117.46. The firm has a market cap of $111.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.99.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 earnings per share 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 last year, the business posted $0.90 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.