Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) Shares Purchased by Pathway Financial Advisers LLC

Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 8,288 shares of the coffee company’s stock after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $756,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SBUX. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 7,598,146 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 55.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,779,859 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,928,339,000 after purchasing an additional 7,015,375 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 1,491.4% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,808,571 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $256,282,000 after purchasing an additional 2,632,087 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted 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 acquired a new position in shares of Starbucks during the third quarter worth $126,574,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Price Performance

NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $113.04 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $128.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.00. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $97.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $95.49. Starbucks Co. has a 1-year low of $71.55 and a 1-year high of $113.19.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the business earned $0.90 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Starbucks’s payout ratio is 78.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Starbucks news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.54, for a total transaction of $148,414.14. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 80,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,975,542.96. The trade was a 1.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. BTIG Research raised their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Starbucks from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Starbucks from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Starbucks currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $105.33.

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.