Fisher Asset Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,916,777 shares of the coffee company’s stock after buying an additional 154,093 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned about 1.05% of Starbucks worth $1,087,406,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SBUX. Wellington Management Group LLP increased 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 last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Starbucks by 55.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,779,859 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,928,339,000 after buying an additional 7,015,375 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Starbucks by 1,491.4% during 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 during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its position in Starbucks by 1,078.5% during 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 purchasing an additional 2,329,431 shares during the period. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new position in Starbucks during the third quarter worth about $126,574,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on SBUX shares. Barclays increased their target price 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. Redburn Atlantic reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $77.00 target price (down previously from $84.00) on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price 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. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $105.75.

Starbucks Price Performance

Shares of Starbucks stock opened at $115.81 on Friday. Starbucks Co. has a 1 year low of $71.55 and a 1 year high of $116.09. The firm has a market cap of $131.55 billion, a PE ratio of 37.36, a PEG ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $102.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $98.49.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 earned $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate 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.