PFW Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

PFW Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 21,936 shares of the coffee company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,002,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Dakota Wealth Management raised its position in Starbucks by 0.5% during the third quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 55,793 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $5,439,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Weil Company Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 31.2% in the 3rd quarter. Weil Company Inc. now owns 34,580 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $3,371,000 after purchasing an additional 8,222 shares during the period. Maia Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Starbucks by 69.1% in the 3rd quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 18,582 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,805,000 after purchasing an additional 7,596 shares during the last quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Starbucks by 48.5% during the third quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 30,422 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $2,966,000 after purchasing an additional 9,936 shares during the period. Finally, Investment Management Corp of Ontario increased its position in Starbucks by 48.6% during the third quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 37,584 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $3,664,000 after buying an additional 12,300 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,452 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.07, for a total value of $143,849.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 65,648 shares in the company, valued at $6,503,747.36. This represents a 2.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Starbucks Price Performance

SBUX stock traded up $1.26 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $93.51. 6,908,424 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,958,891. Starbucks Co. has a 52 week low of $71.55 and a 52 week high of $103.32. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $96.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $106.02 billion, a PE ratio of 28.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.99.

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

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.61%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on SBUX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Starbucks from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Starbucks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $92.00 to $115.00 in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on shares of Starbucks in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Starbucks from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Starbucks presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.77.

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.