Guardian Partners Inc. Acquires New Position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Guardian Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 52,683 shares of the coffee company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,878,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in Starbucks during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,873,000. Umpqua Bank purchased a new stake in Starbucks during the 4th quarter valued at about $229,000. Plancorp LLC purchased a new stake in Starbucks during the 4th quarter valued at about $269,000. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Starbucks during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its position in Starbucks by 46.2% during the 4th quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 107,430 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $9,803,000 after purchasing an additional 33,948 shares during the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Starbucks Trading Down 2.2 %

NASDAQ SBUX opened at $97.07 on Friday. Starbucks Co. has a 12 month low of $71.55 and a 12 month high of $117.46. The stock has a market cap of $110.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.31, a PEG ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.99. The company’s 50 day moving average is $105.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $99.36.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 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 in the previous year, the business posted $0.90 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 2.99 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on SBUX shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wedbush raised 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. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Starbucks in a report on Friday, January 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Starbucks presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $106.12.

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.