Paul R. Ried Financial Group LLC Buys New Stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Paul R. Ried Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 21,661 shares of the coffee company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,977,000. Starbucks comprises approximately 1.4% of Paul R. Ried Financial Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Starbucks by 100.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,149,937 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,476,967,000 after acquiring an additional 7,598,146 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Starbucks by 55.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,779,859 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,928,339,000 after purchasing an additional 7,015,375 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Starbucks by 1,491.4% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,808,571 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $256,282,000 after purchasing an additional 2,632,087 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its position in shares of 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 worth $248,153,000 after purchasing an additional 2,329,431 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new stake in Starbucks in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $126,574,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Redburn Atlantic reissued a “sell” rating and set a $77.00 price objective (down from $84.00) on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $105.33.

Starbucks Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $108.16 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $96.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $93.61. Starbucks Co. has a 12-month low of $71.55 and a 12-month high of $110.34. The firm has a market cap of $122.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 1.00.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.01. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 44.97% and a net margin of 9.73%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 3 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Starbucks’s payout ratio is currently 78.71%.

Insider Transactions at Starbucks

In other Starbucks news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.54, for a total value of $148,414.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 80,124 shares in the company, valued at $7,975,542.96. This trade represents a 1.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.