River Road Asset Management LLC Sells 122,927 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

River Road Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 42.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 168,944 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 122,927 shares during the quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $15,416,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Starbucks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Collier Financial bought a new position in Starbucks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Starbucks during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in shares of Starbucks during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Starbucks during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. 72.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SBUX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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, February 25th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Starbucks from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target 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 lifted their price target on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $105.75.

Starbucks Price Performance

Shares of SBUX opened at $101.13 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $104.31 and a 200-day moving average of $99.19. Starbucks Co. has a one year low of $71.55 and a one year high of $117.46. The company has a market cap of $114.87 billion, a PE ratio of 32.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.99.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 EPS 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $0.90 earnings per share. 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.