Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC lowered its position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 95.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,404 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 88,177 shares during the quarter. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $403,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the third quarter worth approximately $115,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Starbucks by 19.6% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,181,179 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $212,643,000 after purchasing an additional 357,046 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 55.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,779,859 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,928,339,000 after purchasing an additional 7,015,375 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 20.3% in the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 7,646 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $745,000 after purchasing an additional 1,292 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Starbucks by 25.6% in the 3rd quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 7,667 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $748,000 after buying an additional 1,562 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Starbucks from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wedbush lifted their target price on Starbucks from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays upped their target price on Starbucks from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Argus upgraded Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $106.12.

Starbucks Price Performance

NASDAQ SBUX opened at $97.97 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $111.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.60, a PEG ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.99. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $105.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $99.47. Starbucks Co. has a 1 year low of $71.55 and a 1 year high of $117.46.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced 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 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 expect 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.