Exeter Financial LLC Purchases 324 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Exeter Financial LLC increased its position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,218 shares of the coffee company’s stock after acquiring an additional 324 shares during the period. Exeter Financial LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $1,480,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Starbucks by 100.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,149,937 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,476,967,000 after purchasing an additional 7,598,146 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Starbucks by 55.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,779,859 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,928,339,000 after buying an additional 7,015,375 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in Starbucks by 1,466.3% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,350,932 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $260,870,000 after buying an additional 3,136,992 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its stake in Starbucks by 1,078.5% during the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 2,545,419 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $248,153,000 after acquiring an additional 2,329,431 shares during the period. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the 3rd quarter valued at about $126,574,000. 72.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Starbucks news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.54, for a total transaction of $148,414.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 80,124 shares in the company, valued at $7,975,542.96. The trade was a 1.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of SBUX opened at $93.51 on Tuesday. Starbucks Co. has a fifty-two week low of $71.55 and a fifty-two week high of $103.32. The company’s fifty day moving average is $96.06 and its 200 day moving average is $91.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $106.02 billion, a PE ratio of 28.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.99.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.80. Starbucks had a net margin of 10.40% and a negative return on equity of 46.39%. The firm had revenue of $9.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.06 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 3.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.61%. Starbucks’s payout ratio is presently 73.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on SBUX shares. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Starbucks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $92.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. BTIG Research increased their price target on Starbucks from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Wedbush cut their price objective on Starbucks from $98.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup increased their target price on Starbucks from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Starbucks from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.77.

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.