Apella Capital LLC Buys 576 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Apella Capital LLC raised its stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 8.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,522 shares of the coffee company’s stock after purchasing an additional 576 shares during the quarter. Apella Capital LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $686,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in SBUX. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Starbucks in the second quarter valued at $25,000. DT Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 39.4% in the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 428 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Starbucks during the 3rd quarter valued at about $49,000. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in shares of Starbucks during the 3rd quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Starbucks in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $71,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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

Starbucks Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of SBUX stock opened at $93.08 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $95.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.34. The stock has a market cap of $105.53 billion, a PE ratio of 28.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.99. Starbucks Co. has a 12 month low of $71.55 and a 12 month high of $103.32.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80. Starbucks had a net margin of 10.40% and a negative return on equity of 46.39%. The business had revenue of $9.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.06 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.62%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SBUX has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Starbucks from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America decreased their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target 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. Barclays reduced their price objective on Starbucks from $110.00 to $108.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Redburn Atlantic reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $77.00 target price (down previously from $84.00) on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.77.

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.