Blue Trust Inc. Increases Position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 71.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,413 shares of the coffee company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,779 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $2,282,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Starbucks during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. DT Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in Starbucks by 39.4% in the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 428 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Starbucks in the 3rd quarter valued at $49,000. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in Starbucks during the 3rd quarter worth $50,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the third quarter worth $71,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on SBUX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Starbucks from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Barclays lowered their target price on Starbucks from $110.00 to $108.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Wedbush cut their price target on Starbucks from $98.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Starbucks from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Redburn Atlantic reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $77.00 target price (down from $84.00) on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $104.08.

Starbucks Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of SBUX opened at $100.02 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $113.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.22, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.99. Starbucks Co. has a fifty-two week low of $71.55 and a fifty-two week high of $103.32. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $95.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $92.53.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 negative return on equity of 46.39% and a net margin of 10.40%. The business had revenue of $9.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.60 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.06 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Starbucks

In other Starbucks news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,452 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.07, for a total value of $143,849.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 65,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,503,747.36. This represents a 2.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Starbucks Company 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.