Washington Trust Advisors Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Washington Trust Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 192,459 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 5,151 shares during the quarter. Starbucks comprises 1.5% of Washington Trust Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Washington Trust Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $17,562,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the 4th quarter worth $284,283,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the 4th quarter worth $111,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the 4th quarter worth $302,000. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Starbucks by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 327,459 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $29,881,000 after purchasing an additional 2,722 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Starbucks by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,647 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $698,000 after purchasing an additional 714 shares during the period. 72.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Starbucks from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Starbucks from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Wedbush boosted their price objective on Starbucks from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Starbucks from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Starbucks presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $105.75.

Starbucks Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of SBUX stock opened at $111.69 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $126.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.03, a PEG ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.99. The business’s fifty day moving average is $103.55 and its 200 day moving average is $98.89. Starbucks Co. has a twelve month low of $71.55 and a twelve month high of $117.46.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 in the previous year, the business earned $0.90 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Starbucks

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.