Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) Shares Bought by Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 5.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 134,590 shares of the coffee company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,342 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $12,281,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Starbucks by 1.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,974,407 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $4,482,045,000 after purchasing an additional 437,218 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 1.4% in the third 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 grew its holdings in Starbucks by 55.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,779,859 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,928,339,000 after acquiring an additional 7,015,375 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Starbucks by 100.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 7,598,146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted 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 valued at $1,146,744,000 after acquiring an additional 327,734 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SBUX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Starbucks from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. BTIG Research lifted 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. Finally, Wedbush raised their price objective on Starbucks from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Starbucks has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $105.33.

Insider Activity at Starbucks

In other Starbucks news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.54, for a total value of $148,414.14. Following the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Starbucks Stock Performance

NASDAQ SBUX opened at $112.20 on Friday. Starbucks Co. has a fifty-two week low of $71.55 and a fifty-two week high of $112.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $127.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $96.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $94.32.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.01. Starbucks had a net margin of 9.73% and a negative return on equity of 44.97%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 3 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Starbucks’s payout ratio is presently 78.71%.

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.