Welch & Forbes LLC Lowers Stock Position in Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Welch & Forbes LLC trimmed its holdings in Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 3.2% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 110,443 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 3,678 shares during the quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $10,833,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of SBUX. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Starbucks by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC now owns 3,421 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Pioneer Trust Bank N A OR increased its stake in Starbucks by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Pioneer Trust Bank N A OR now owns 11,312 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,032,000 after buying an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its position in shares of Starbucks by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 2,860 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $261,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Starbucks by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC now owns 1,014 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $93,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Taurus Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Starbucks by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Taurus Asset Management LLC now owns 21,895 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,998,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Starbucks from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $76.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Starbucks in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Argus upgraded shares of Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Guggenheim lowered their target price on shares of Starbucks from $95.00 to $83.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.92.

Starbucks Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $92.48 on Wednesday. Starbucks Corporation has a 1 year low of $71.55 and a 1 year high of $117.46. The stock has a market cap of $105.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.51, a P/E/G ratio of 4.78 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $89.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $94.53.

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

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.