Stonebridge Financial Group LLC Acquires New Position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 4,301 shares of the coffee company’s stock, valued at approximately $393,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Starbucks in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. DT Investment Partners LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Starbucks in the 3rd quarter valued at about $49,000. Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the 3rd quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in Starbucks in the fourth quarter worth about $56,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,452 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.07, for a total value of $143,849.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 65,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,503,747.36. This trade represents a 2.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Starbucks Trading Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $111.03 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $97.32 and a 200-day moving average of $95.10. The firm has a market cap of $126.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.00. Starbucks Co. has a twelve month low of $71.55 and a twelve month high of $112.62.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 EPS 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 3 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on SBUX shares. Barclays upped their target price on Starbucks from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Starbucks from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Starbucks from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.