Rakuten Securities Inc. Sells 249 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Rakuten Securities Inc. decreased its position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 28.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 627 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 249 shares during the quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $57,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SBUX. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Starbucks by 100.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,149,937 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,476,967,000 after acquiring an additional 7,598,146 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Starbucks by 55.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,779,859 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,928,339,000 after acquiring an additional 7,015,375 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Starbucks in the fourth quarter valued at about $284,283,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Starbucks by 1,491.4% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,808,571 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $256,282,000 after buying an additional 2,632,087 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its position 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 worth $248,153,000 after buying an additional 2,329,431 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on SBUX. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Starbucks from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wedbush boosted their price target on Starbucks from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Starbucks from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Starbucks from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Three 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $105.75.

Starbucks Stock Performance

NASDAQ SBUX opened at $98.69 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $112.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.99. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $104.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $99.22. Starbucks Co. has a fifty-two week low of $71.55 and a fifty-two week high of $117.46.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its 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 negative return on equity of 44.97% and a net margin of 9.73%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.90 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Starbucks Co. will post 2.99 EPS for the current 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.