Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. lessened its stake in Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 3.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,628 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 150 shares during the quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $454,000 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 the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 86.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 176,722 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $16,126,000 after buying an additional 81,952 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,647 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $698,000 after buying an additional 714 shares in the last quarter. Callan Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the fourth quarter worth $1,326,000. Destination Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Starbucks by 106.3% during the 4th quarter. Destination Wealth Management now owns 4,883 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $446,000 after acquiring an additional 2,516 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aviance Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Starbucks by 22.5% during the 4th quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,571 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $417,000 after acquiring an additional 840 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Starbucks from $103.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Starbucks from $84.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Starbucks from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $76.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $108.00 price target (up previously from $98.00) on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Starbucks from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Starbucks currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.23.

Starbucks Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of Starbucks stock opened at $94.44 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.22, a P/E/G ratio of 4.84 and a beta of 1.02. Starbucks Corporation has a 52 week low of $71.55 and a 52 week high of $117.46. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $87.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $94.31.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The coffee company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $8.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.90 billion. Starbucks had a net margin of 8.61% and a negative return on equity of 42.14%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.68 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Starbucks Corporation will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.