Norges Bank Invests $1.24 Billion in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 13,641,775 shares of the coffee company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,244,812,000. Norges Bank owned about 1.20% of Starbucks at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Starbucks by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 111,106,209 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $10,138,442,000 after acquiring an additional 784,432 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Starbucks by 1.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,974,407 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $4,482,045,000 after purchasing an additional 437,218 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,277,756 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $2,358,464,000 after purchasing an additional 333,004 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Starbucks by 55.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,779,859 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,928,339,000 after buying an additional 7,015,375 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Starbucks by 100.6% during 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Stock Performance

NASDAQ SBUX opened at $97.97 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $111.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.60, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.99. The business’s fifty day moving average is $105.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $99.47. Starbucks Co. has a 1 year low of $71.55 and a 1 year high of $117.46.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Starbucks from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Argus raised Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price 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. Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of Starbucks from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $106.12.

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.