National Pension Service Grows Position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

National Pension Service raised its holdings in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,281,745 shares of the coffee company’s stock after purchasing an additional 62,280 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned 0.20% of Starbucks worth $208,209,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Starbucks by 100.6% during 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 period. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Starbucks by 55.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 1,491.4% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,808,571 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $256,282,000 after purchasing an additional 2,632,087 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its stake in Starbucks by 1,078.5% in 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. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new position in Starbucks in the third quarter worth about $126,574,000. Institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SBUX. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Starbucks from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wedbush upped 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. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Starbucks from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $105.75.

Starbucks Stock Performance

SBUX opened at $114.59 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $130.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.96, a PEG ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.00. Starbucks Co. has a 1-year low of $71.55 and a 1-year high of $115.24. The company has a 50-day moving average of $100.58 and a 200-day moving average of $98.00.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Company 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.