Guardian Partners Inc. Invests $4.88 Million in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Guardian Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 52,683 shares of the coffee company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,878,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in Starbucks during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Collier Financial bought a new position in Starbucks during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Starbucks during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Starbucks during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in Starbucks during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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 upped their price target on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a 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 on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $106.12.

Starbucks Stock Performance

SBUX stock opened at $97.07 on Friday. The firm 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $105.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $99.36. Starbucks Co. has a one year low of $71.55 and a one year high of $117.46.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released 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 net margin of 9.73% and a negative return on equity of 44.97%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, equities 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.