Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. Acquires Shares of 3,133,081 Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 3,133,081 shares of the coffee company’s stock, valued at approximately $243,910,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.28% of Starbucks as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SBUX. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in Starbucks by 96.3% in the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 5,213 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $508,000 after acquiring an additional 2,558 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Starbucks by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 50,910 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $4,888,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Starbucks by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,080 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $968,000 after purchasing an additional 1,299 shares during the last quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Starbucks during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance raised its stake in Starbucks by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 45,337 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $4,353,000 after buying an additional 516 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Starbucks

In other news, CEO Rachel Ruggeri sold 3,290 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.16, for a total transaction of $299,916.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 62,502 shares in the company, valued at $5,697,682.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Starbucks news, CEO Rachel Ruggeri sold 3,290 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.16, for a total value of $299,916.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 62,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,697,682.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.03, for a total transaction of $305,597.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 75,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,057,327.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on SBUX. Baird R W upgraded Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Citigroup raised their target price on Starbucks from $82.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Evercore ISI raised Starbucks from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $80.00 to $120.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Starbucks from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned 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 target price of $99.83.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SBUX opened at $98.57 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $111.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.96. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $84.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.92. Starbucks Co. has a 52-week low of $71.55 and a 52-week high of $107.66.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The coffee company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93. Starbucks had a net margin of 11.16% and a negative return on equity of 49.38%. The firm had revenue of $9.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.00 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 3.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.