Korea Investment CORP Increases Stock Holdings in Starbucks Corporation $SBUX

Korea Investment CORP increased its holdings in Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 19.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 676,916 shares of the coffee company’s stock after purchasing an additional 109,951 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP owned 0.06% of Starbucks worth $66,399,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SBUX. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the first quarter valued at $1,379,619,000. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new position in Starbucks in the first quarter valued at $817,759,000. Polen Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Starbucks in the first quarter valued at $503,539,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Starbucks by 59.5% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 9,623,282 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $943,948,000 after acquiring an additional 3,589,537 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Starbucks by 218.7% in the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,552,921 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $446,596,000 after acquiring an additional 3,124,533 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Trading Up 2.1%

NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $92.54 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $105.19 billion, a PE ratio of 39.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.32 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $92.83 and a 200-day moving average of $93.88. Starbucks Corporation has a 52 week low of $75.50 and a 52 week high of $117.46.

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

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SBUX. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $95.00 target price (up previously from $85.00) on shares of Starbucks in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Starbucks from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 target price (up previously from $95.00) on shares of Starbucks in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Starbucks from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Starbucks from $100.00 to $99.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $103.65.

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.