Atlas Brown Inc. Increases Holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Atlas Brown Inc. increased its holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,663 shares of the coffee company’s stock after buying an additional 216 shares during the quarter. Atlas Brown Inc.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $517,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new position in Starbucks in the second quarter valued at $41,000. DT Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Starbucks by 39.4% in the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 428 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the 3rd quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the 3rd quarter valued at about $50,000. 72.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Starbucks news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,452 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 65,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,503,747.36. This trade represents a 2.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SBUX. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Starbucks from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays reduced their target price on Starbucks from $110.00 to $108.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Starbucks from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Starbucks from $118.00 to $117.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Starbucks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.77.

Starbucks Stock Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ:SBUX traded down $0.40 on Friday, reaching $92.20. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,500,766 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,539,876. The firm has a market cap of $104.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.99. Starbucks Co. has a 12-month low of $71.55 and a 12-month high of $103.32. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $96.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.88.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.80. The company had revenue of $9.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.60 billion. Starbucks had a net margin of 10.40% and a negative return on equity of 46.39%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.06 earnings per share. Starbucks’s revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 3.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. 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.