Prospera Private Wealth LLC Acquires New Holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 3,152 shares of the coffee company’s stock, valued at approximately $307,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of Starbucks by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,720,903 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $678,923,000 after acquiring an additional 221,718 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Starbucks by 108.1% in the 2nd 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 period. Swiss National Bank grew its position in Starbucks by 0.3% in the 3rd 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 period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Starbucks by 1,466.3% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,350,932 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $260,870,000 after purchasing an additional 3,136,992 shares during the period. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Starbucks by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,255,967 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $317,424,000 after purchasing an additional 122,886 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SBUX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a report on Monday, November 11th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Starbucks from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $81.00 to $110.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Starbucks from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, DZ Bank cut Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $85.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Starbucks has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.81.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp acquired 380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $91.50 per share, with a total value of $34,770.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 36,242 shares in the company, valued at $3,316,143. This trade represents a 1.06 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,452 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.07, for a total value of $143,849.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 65,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,503,747.36. This trade represents a 2.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Starbucks Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ SBUX opened at $98.26 on Thursday. Starbucks Co. has a 12 month low of $71.55 and a 12 month high of $104.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.69, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a 50-day moving average of $97.01 and a 200-day moving average of $86.70.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its 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 business had revenue of $9.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.60 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 46.39% and a net margin of 10.40%. Starbucks’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.06 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Starbucks Co. will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.48%. This is a positive change from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.72%.

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.