Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. Grows Holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 19,002 shares of the coffee company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,879 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $1,852,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SBUX. 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 worth $678,923,000 after buying an additional 221,718 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Starbucks by 108.1% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,475,156 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $348,391,000 after acquiring an additional 2,324,847 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 0.3% in 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 period. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 1,466.3% in the second 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. raised its stake in shares of Starbucks by 3.9% during the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,255,967 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $317,424,000 after purchasing an additional 122,886 shares during the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Redburn Atlantic reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $77.00 price target (down from $84.00) on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Starbucks from $118.00 to $117.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased 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, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.81.

Starbucks Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of SBUX stock opened at $102.50 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $116.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.97, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $97.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $87.19. Starbucks Co. has a twelve month low of $71.55 and a twelve month high of $103.60.

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, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.80. The business had revenue of $9.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.60 billion. Starbucks had a net margin of 10.40% and a negative return on equity of 46.39%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.06 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Starbucks Co. will post 3.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.38%. This is an increase from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.72%.

Insider Transactions at Starbucks

In related news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. This represents a 1.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp acquired 380 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were acquired 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $3,316,143. This trade represents a 1.06 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

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.