River Road Asset Management LLC Decreases Stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

River Road Asset Management LLC cut its position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX - Free Report) by 42.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 168,944 shares of the coffee company's stock after selling 122,927 shares during the quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC's holdings in Starbucks were worth $15,416,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel increased its stake in shares of Starbucks by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel now owns 4,240 shares of the coffee company's stock worth $387,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Jmac Enterprises LLC boosted its holdings in Starbucks by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Jmac Enterprises LLC now owns 9,995 shares of the coffee company's stock worth $912,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Aspire Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Starbucks by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Aspire Capital Advisors LLC now owns 23,210 shares of the coffee company's stock valued at $2,118,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Optas LLC raised its holdings in Starbucks by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Optas LLC now owns 16,711 shares of the coffee company's stock valued at $1,525,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Finally, Boomfish Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Starbucks by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Boomfish Wealth Group LLC now owns 15,335 shares of the coffee company's stock worth $1,399,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.29% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on SBUX shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Redburn Atlantic restated a "sell" rating and set a $77.00 target price (down previously from $84.00) on shares of Starbucks in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Starbucks from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Starbucks from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of Starbucks from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $105.75.

Starbucks Price Performance

SBUX traded down $1.27 on Wednesday, reaching $98.31. 5,765,622 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,607,734. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $104.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $99.23. The stock has a market cap of $111.67 billion, a PE ratio of 31.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.99. Starbucks Co. has a twelve month low of $71.55 and a twelve month high of $117.46.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.01. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 44.97% and a net margin of 9.73%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Starbucks Co. 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.