Argent Trust Co Has $10.75 Million Position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Argent Trust Co grew its position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 117,817 shares of the coffee company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,052 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $10,751,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SBUX. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in Starbucks in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in Starbucks during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Starbucks during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SBUX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective (down from $114.00) on shares of Starbucks in a report on Monday. Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of Starbucks from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Starbucks from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $76.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Starbucks has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $105.12.

Starbucks Trading Down 5.9 %

Shares of SBUX traded down $5.27 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $83.41. The stock had a trading volume of 600,482 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,386,540. The company has a market capitalization of $94.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.00. Starbucks Co. has a 12 month low of $71.55 and a 12 month high of $117.46. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $103.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $98.92.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 negative return on equity of 44.97% and a net margin of 9.73%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.90 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 2.99 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th 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 2.93%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is presently 78.71%.

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.