Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Purchases 604 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 8.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,963 shares of the coffee company’s stock after acquiring an additional 604 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $728,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wintrust Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Starbucks by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Wintrust Investments LLC now owns 1,411 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $128,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel increased its position in Starbucks by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel now owns 4,240 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $387,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC raised its stake in Starbucks by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC now owns 1,265 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $115,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Starbucks by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,665 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $243,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jmac Enterprises LLC boosted its holdings in Starbucks by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Jmac Enterprises LLC now owns 9,995 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $912,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Argus raised shares of Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Starbucks from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price target on Starbucks from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $106.12.

Starbucks Price Performance

NASDAQ SBUX opened at $95.72 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $108.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.99. Starbucks Co. has a 1-year low of $71.55 and a 1-year high of $117.46. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $105.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $99.44.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Starbucks Co. will post 2.99 EPS for the current fiscal 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.