Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Raises Stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 8.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,963 shares of the coffee company’s stock after acquiring an additional 604 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $728,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SBUX. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 100.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,149,937 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,476,967,000 after buying an additional 7,598,146 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in Starbucks by 55.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,779,859 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,928,339,000 after acquiring an additional 7,015,375 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Starbucks in the fourth quarter valued at $284,283,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Starbucks by 1,491.4% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,808,571 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $256,282,000 after acquiring an additional 2,632,087 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 1,078.5% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 2,545,419 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $248,153,000 after purchasing an additional 2,329,431 shares during the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SBUX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wedbush upped their target price on Starbucks from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group raised their target price 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. Argus upgraded shares of Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $106.12.

Starbucks Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $95.72 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $108.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.88, a PEG ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.99. Starbucks Co. has a 1 year low of $71.55 and a 1 year high of $117.46. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $105.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $99.44.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.90 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Starbucks Co. 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.