Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Has $2.51 Million Stock Position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

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

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in SBUX. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Starbucks during the fourth quarter worth $62,000. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in Starbucks by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 327,459 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $29,881,000 after acquiring an additional 2,722 shares in the last quarter. West Michigan Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Starbucks in the fourth quarter valued at about $265,000. Wernau Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the fourth quarter worth about $258,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp of Ontario raised its position in shares of Starbucks by 48.6% during the third quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 37,584 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $3,664,000 after purchasing an additional 12,300 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Price Performance

NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $97.73 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $111.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.53, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.99. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $105.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $99.54. Starbucks Co. has a one year low of $71.55 and a one year high of $117.46.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company posted $0.90 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SBUX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Argus raised Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of 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 lifted their price target on Starbucks from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned 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.com, Starbucks currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.12.

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.