Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Boosts Stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 19.0% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 215,988 shares of the coffee company’s stock after acquiring an additional 34,498 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $16,815,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board purchased a new position in Starbucks in the first quarter worth approximately $415,167,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in Starbucks by 1,466.3% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,350,932 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $260,870,000 after acquiring an additional 3,136,992 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Starbucks in the 2nd quarter valued at $243,910,000. Flossbach Von Storch AG raised its holdings in Starbucks by 106.7% during the first quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 5,612,687 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $512,943,000 after purchasing an additional 2,897,282 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors acquired a new position in Starbucks during the first quarter worth $257,721,000. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SBUX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Starbucks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $92.00 to $115.00 in a report on Thursday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Starbucks from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Starbucks in a report on Thursday, June 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $100.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $85.00 to $118.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have assigned 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 $101.12.

Starbucks Price Performance

Starbucks stock opened at $95.56 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $108.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.97. Starbucks Co. has a fifty-two week low of $71.55 and a fifty-two week high of $107.66. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $90.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.40.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The coffee company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.93. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 49.38% and a net margin of 11.16%. The firm had revenue of $9.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.00 earnings per share. Starbucks’s quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 3.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Starbucks

In other news, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp acquired 380 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $91.50 per share, for a total transaction of $34,770.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 36,242 shares in the company, valued at $3,316,143. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Starbucks news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.03, for a total value of $305,597.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 75,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,057,327.62. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp bought 380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $91.50 per share, for a total transaction of $34,770.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,316,143. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

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.