Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) Shares Purchased by Altfest L J & Co. Inc.

Altfest L J & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,729 shares of the coffee company’s stock after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the quarter. Altfest L J & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $550,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Starbucks by 0.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 106,891,648 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $9,756,001,000 after purchasing an additional 387,632 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Starbucks by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,619,709 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $4,519,088,000 after purchasing an additional 1,499,524 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of Starbucks by 46.3% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 26,718,368 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $2,650,462,000 after buying an additional 8,451,599 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 1.5% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 15,217,752 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,388,924,000 after buying an additional 232,031 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Starbucks during the fourth quarter worth $1,222,931,000. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Starbucks

In other news, insider Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.03, for a total value of $305,597.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 84,153 shares in the company, valued at $7,912,906.59. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 4,000 shares of company stock worth $375,665 over the last ninety days. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Starbucks from $103.00 to $102.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $102.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Starbucks from $106.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 18th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Starbucks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 20th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Starbucks from $116.00 to $112.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $110.05.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of SBUX traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $91.57. 3,092,936 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,523,658. The firm has a market capitalization of $103.68 billion, a PE ratio of 24.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.98. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $93.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $95.19. Starbucks Co. has a 1-year low of $89.21 and a 1-year high of $115.48.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The coffee company reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.02). Starbucks had a net margin of 11.70% and a negative return on equity of 50.76%. The firm had revenue of $9.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.75 EPS. Starbucks’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 4.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.96%.

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.