Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) Shares Purchased by Townsquare Capital LLC

Townsquare Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 159,915 shares of the coffee company’s stock after buying an additional 9,733 shares during the quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $15,590,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 55.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,779,859 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,928,339,000 after purchasing an additional 7,015,375 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 2.9% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 11,762,684 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,146,744,000 after purchasing an additional 327,734 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 2.6% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,720,903 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $678,923,000 after purchasing an additional 221,718 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 108.1% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,475,156 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $348,391,000 after purchasing an additional 2,324,847 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 0.3% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 3,362,100 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $327,771,000 after purchasing an additional 9,900 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $100.68 on Wednesday. Starbucks Co. has a one year low of $71.55 and a one year high of $103.32. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $97.30 and a 200-day moving average of $87.55. The company has a market capitalization of $114.15 billion, a PE ratio of 30.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.97.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.80. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 46.39% and a net margin of 10.40%. The business had revenue of $9.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.60 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.06 earnings per share. Starbucks’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 3.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.42%. This is an increase from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp bought 380 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $91.50 per share, for a total transaction of $34,770.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 36,242 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,316,143. This represents a 1.06 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.54, for a total transaction of $148,414.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. 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. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Starbucks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $92.00 to $115.00 in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Robert W. Baird raised Starbucks from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $81.00 to $110.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. DZ Bank lowered Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $85.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered Starbucks from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $80.00 to $76.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Starbucks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.77.

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.