Retirement Systems of Alabama Grows Stock Position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its stake in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 224.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 791,931 shares of the coffee company’s stock after purchasing an additional 547,967 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned about 0.07% of Starbucks worth $72,264,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of SBUX. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Starbucks during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. DT Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in Starbucks by 39.4% during the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 428 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Starbucks during the third quarter worth $49,000. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in Starbucks during the third quarter worth $50,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Starbucks during the third quarter worth $71,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Price Performance

NASDAQ SBUX opened at $110.60 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $125.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 1.00. Starbucks Co. has a 1-year low of $71.55 and a 1-year high of $111.07. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $96.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $93.85.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 negative return on equity of 44.97% and a net margin of 9.73%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.90 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors 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 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SBUX. Citigroup upped their price objective on Starbucks from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group upped their price objective on Starbucks from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Starbucks from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Starbucks from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on Starbucks from $118.00 to $117.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Starbucks has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $105.33.

About Starbucks

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.