Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Increases Holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 473,779 shares of the coffee company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,274 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $43,232,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SBUX. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Starbucks by 1.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,974,407 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $4,482,045,000 after buying an additional 437,218 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Starbucks by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,277,756 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $2,358,464,000 after acquiring an additional 333,004 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 55.0% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Starbucks by 100.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 7,598,146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 11,916,777 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,087,406,000 after purchasing an additional 154,093 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Starbucks stock opened at $99.28 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $112.77 billion, a PE ratio of 32.03, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $105.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $99.30. Starbucks Co. has a fifty-two week low of $71.55 and a fifty-two week high of $117.46.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its earnings results 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $0.90 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on SBUX shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Starbucks in a report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays boosted 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. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Wedbush increased their price target on shares of Starbucks from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Starbucks from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $106.12.

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.