IRON Financial LLC Acquires 968 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

IRON Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 11.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,157 shares of the coffee company’s stock after acquiring an additional 968 shares during the quarter. IRON Financial LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $836,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SBUX. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Starbucks by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,277,756 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $2,358,464,000 after buying an additional 333,004 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in 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 in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Starbucks by 100.6% in the third 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 last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Starbucks by 2.9% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 11,762,684 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,146,744,000 after acquiring an additional 327,734 shares in the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Starbucks

In related news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.54, for a total transaction of $148,414.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 80,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,975,542.96. This represents a 1.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Starbucks Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $100.02 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $95.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $92.53. Starbucks Co. has a fifty-two week low of $71.55 and a fifty-two week high of $103.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $113.40 billion, a PE ratio of 30.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.99.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $9.60 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.06 EPS. Starbucks’s quarterly revenue 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 Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on SBUX. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Wedbush dropped their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $98.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group raised their target price on Starbucks from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their price target on Starbucks from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $104.08.

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.