Coastwise Capital Group LLC Grows Stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Coastwise Capital Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 13.3% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 18,919 shares of the coffee company’s stock after buying an additional 2,219 shares during the quarter. Starbucks comprises approximately 1.5% of Coastwise Capital Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Coastwise Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $1,844,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Starbucks by 55.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,779,859 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,928,339,000 after buying an additional 7,015,375 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised 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 worth $260,870,000 after acquiring an additional 3,136,992 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Starbucks in the second quarter worth $243,910,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its position in shares of Starbucks by 1,078.5% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 2,545,419 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $248,153,000 after acquiring an additional 2,329,431 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 108.1% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,475,156 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $348,391,000 after acquiring an additional 2,324,847 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Starbucks from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Redburn Atlantic reissued a “sell” rating and set a $77.00 price objective (down previously from $84.00) on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI upgraded Starbucks from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $80.00 to $120.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut Starbucks from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $80.00 to $76.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.77.

Insider Buying and Selling at Starbucks

In related news, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp bought 380 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $91.50 per share, for a total transaction of $34,770.00. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.54, for a total value of $148,414.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 80,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,975,542.96. This trade represents a 1.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Starbucks Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of SBUX stock opened at $102.46 on Monday. Starbucks Co. has a twelve month low of $71.55 and a twelve month high of $103.32. The company has a market capitalization of $116.17 billion, a PE ratio of 30.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $97.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $88.10.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.80. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 46.39% and a net margin of 10.40%. The company had revenue of $9.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.60 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.06 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Starbucks Co. will post 3.12 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This is an increase from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. Starbucks’s 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.