Sculati Wealth Management LLC Raises Stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Sculati Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 15.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,291 shares of the coffee company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,350 shares during the quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $940,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SBUX. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Starbucks in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. New Millennium Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Stephens Consulting LLC grew its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 498.2% in the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 335 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the period. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Starbucks in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Starbucks during the second quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on SBUX. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Starbucks in a report on Monday, August 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Starbucks from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Starbucks from $118.00 to $117.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.77.

Insider Transactions at Starbucks

In related news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,452 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.07, for a total transaction of $143,849.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 65,648 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,503,747.36. The trade was a 2.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Stock Up 0.3 %

NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $98.42 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $111.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.97. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $98.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $89.25. Starbucks Co. has a fifty-two week low of $71.55 and a fifty-two week high of $103.32.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 46.39% and a net margin of 10.40%. The business had revenue of $9.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.06 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 3.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.48%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.72%.

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.