Highland Capital Management LLC Raises Position in Starbucks Corporation $SBUX

Highland Capital Management LLC grew its position in Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 61,203 shares of the coffee company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,230 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $5,608,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SBUX. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 86.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 176,722 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $16,126,000 after acquiring an additional 81,952 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 16.8% in the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,310 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $521,000 after acquiring an additional 765 shares in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 73.5% in the first quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 15,789 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,549,000 after purchasing an additional 6,689 shares during the period. Foster Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 14.9% in the first quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 3,314 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $325,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares during the period. Finally, SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 7.2% in the first quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,178 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,195,000 after purchasing an additional 823 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of SBUX stock opened at $86.42 on Friday. Starbucks Corporation has a one year low of $75.50 and a one year high of $117.46. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $87.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $88.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 1.01.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The coffee company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.14). Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 36.23% and a net margin of 7.18%.The company had revenue of $9.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.29 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.93 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Starbucks Corporation will post 2.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 28th. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. This is a positive change from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 105.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SBUX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. CICC Research initiated coverage on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Monday, June 30th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $100.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $95.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Loop Capital set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Starbucks presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $104.00.

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.