Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) Shares Purchased by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX - Free Report) by 19.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,923,949 shares of the coffee company's stock after purchasing an additional 479,933 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.26% of Starbucks worth $266,810,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SBUX. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel boosted its holdings in Starbucks by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel now owns 4,240 shares of the coffee company's stock worth $387,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Jmac Enterprises LLC boosted its holdings in Starbucks by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Jmac Enterprises LLC now owns 9,995 shares of the coffee company's stock worth $912,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Aspire Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Starbucks by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Aspire Capital Advisors LLC now owns 23,210 shares of the coffee company's stock worth $2,118,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Optas LLC boosted its holdings in Starbucks by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Optas LLC now owns 16,711 shares of the coffee company's stock worth $1,525,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boomfish Wealth Group LLC raised its position in 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 during the period. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on SBUX shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective 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. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wedbush upped their price objective 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. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Starbucks from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $105.33.

Starbucks Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SBUX traded down $1.59 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $111.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,661,850 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,790,830. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $99.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $97.15. Starbucks Co. has a 1 year low of $71.55 and a 1 year high of $114.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $126.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 1.00.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 9.73% and a negative return on equity of 44.97%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.90 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Starbucks Co. will post 2.99 EPS for the current fiscal 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.