Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. Boosts Holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 11.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,002 shares of the coffee company’s stock after buying an additional 1,879 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $1,852,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Starbucks in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. New Millennium Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Starbucks in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its holdings in Starbucks by 498.2% during the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 335 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Starbucks during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Starbucks in the second quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Price Performance

Shares of SBUX stock opened at $102.50 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $116.21 billion, a PE ratio of 30.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.97. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $97.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.19. Starbucks Co. has a 12 month low of $71.55 and a 12 month high of $103.60.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.80. The firm had revenue of $9.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.60 billion. Starbucks had a net margin of 10.40% and a negative return on equity of 46.39%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.06 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 3.12 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This is a boost from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.72%.

Insider Activity at Starbucks

In other news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,452 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.07, for a total transaction of $143,849.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 65,648 shares in the company, valued at $6,503,747.36. This trade represents a 2.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp acquired 380 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $91.50 per share, for a total transaction of $34,770.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 36,242 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,316,143. This trade represents a 1.06 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on SBUX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Starbucks from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Starbucks from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Barclays decreased their target price on Starbucks from $110.00 to $108.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $85.00 to $118.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.81.

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.