Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. Boosts Position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,508 shares of the coffee company’s stock after buying an additional 1,493 shares during the quarter. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $4,153,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Dakota Wealth Management increased its holdings in Starbucks by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 55,793 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $5,439,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Weil Company Inc. increased its stake in shares of Starbucks by 31.2% during the 3rd quarter. Weil Company Inc. now owns 34,580 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $3,371,000 after purchasing an additional 8,222 shares in the last quarter. Maia Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Starbucks by 69.1% during the 3rd quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 18,582 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,805,000 after purchasing an additional 7,596 shares during the last quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario lifted its stake in Starbucks by 48.6% in the 3rd quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 37,584 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $3,664,000 after buying an additional 12,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aljian Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Starbucks by 48.5% during the 3rd quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 30,422 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $2,966,000 after buying an additional 9,936 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SBUX has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on Starbucks from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wedbush raised their price target on shares of Starbucks from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Redburn Atlantic reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $77.00 price objective (down previously from $84.00) on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Starbucks from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of Starbucks in a report on Monday, November 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Starbucks presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $105.33.

Starbucks Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Starbucks stock opened at $112.20 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $97.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $94.57. Starbucks Co. has a twelve month low of $71.55 and a twelve month high of $112.62. The stock has a market cap of $127.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.00.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.01. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 44.97% and a net margin of 9.73%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.90 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 3 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Starbucks’s payout ratio is currently 78.71%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,452 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.07, for a total value of $143,849.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 65,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,503,747.36. This represents a 2.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.