Weiss Asset Management LP Takes $12.09 Million Position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new position in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 123,968 shares of the coffee company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,086,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SBUX. Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Starbucks by 21.9% during the second quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 17,002 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,324,000 after purchasing an additional 3,050 shares during the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Starbucks during the second quarter worth approximately $38,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 73.3% in the 2nd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,163 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $168,000 after acquiring an additional 915 shares during the period. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc raised its position in Starbucks by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc now owns 42,045 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $3,273,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cypress Wealth Services LLC boosted its stake in Starbucks by 14.0% during the 2nd quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 6,942 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $540,000 after purchasing an additional 850 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on SBUX shares. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Starbucks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $92.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Starbucks from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays dropped their target price on Starbucks from $110.00 to $108.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Starbucks has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.77.

Starbucks Stock Down 1.5 %

Starbucks stock opened at $99.23 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $98.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $88.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $112.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.98, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.97. Starbucks Co. has a 52-week low of $71.55 and a 52-week high of $103.32.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.80. The company had revenue of $9.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.60 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 46.39% and a net margin of 10.40%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.06 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 3.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This is a boost from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. Starbucks’s payout ratio is 73.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Starbucks

In other Starbucks news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.54, for a total transaction of $148,414.14. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 80,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,975,542.96. The trade was a 1.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Starbucks Company Profile

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.