Impax Asset Management Group plc Cuts Stake in Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Impax Asset Management Group plc reduced its stake in Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX - Free Report) by 16.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 262,760 shares of the coffee company's stock after selling 49,893 shares during the quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc's holdings in Starbucks were worth $25,774,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in Starbucks in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in Starbucks in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Starbucks in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new stake in Starbucks in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Starbucks in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. 72.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SBUX. TD Cowen restated a "hold" rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Starbucks from $103.00 to $92.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Starbucks from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $76.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Evercore ISI reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $105.00 price target (up from $95.00) on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Starbucks from $84.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $98.23.

Starbucks Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of SBUX stock traded up $0.26 during trading on Friday, hitting $94.44. The company had a trading volume of 3,557,273 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,935,717. The stock's 50-day moving average is $87.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $94.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $107.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.84 and a beta of 1.02. Starbucks Corporation has a 52 week low of $71.55 and a 52 week high of $117.46.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The coffee company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $8.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.90 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 42.14% and a net margin of 8.61%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.68 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Starbucks Corporation will post 2.99 EPS 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.