GWN Securities Inc. Invests $219,000 in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

GWN Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 2,227 shares of the coffee company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in Starbucks in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in Starbucks by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 327,459 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $29,881,000 after purchasing an additional 2,722 shares during the last quarter. West Michigan Advisors LLC bought a new position in Starbucks in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $265,000. Wernau Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Starbucks in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $258,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp of Ontario lifted its stake in Starbucks by 48.6% in the 3rd quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 37,584 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $3,664,000 after purchasing an additional 12,300 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on SBUX. Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Starbucks from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Three research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $105.75.

Starbucks Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ SBUX opened at $99.08 on Tuesday. Starbucks Co. has a 12-month low of $71.55 and a 12-month high of $117.46. The firm has a market cap of $112.54 billion, a PE ratio of 31.96, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.99. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $104.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $99.28.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 earnings per share 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 last year, the business earned $0.90 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Starbucks Co. will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current 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.