Wedmont Private Capital Increases Stock Position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Wedmont Private Capital grew its stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,512 shares of the coffee company’s stock after buying an additional 212 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $1,246,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SBUX. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc grew its position in Starbucks by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 10,706 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $977,000 after acquiring an additional 555 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Starbucks by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,313 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,671,000 after purchasing an additional 2,744 shares during the last quarter. Winthrop Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 25.4% in the 4th quarter. Winthrop Advisory Group LLC now owns 11,159 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,018,000 after purchasing an additional 2,263 shares in the last quarter. Clark & Stuart Inc bought a new position in shares of Starbucks during the 4th quarter valued at about $507,000. Finally, Matrix Trust Co lifted its position in Starbucks by 605.3% in the 4th quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 1,065 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $97,000 after buying an additional 914 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on SBUX shares. Bank of America reduced their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Starbucks from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Starbucks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $92.00 to $115.00 in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Starbucks from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.77.

Starbucks Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of SBUX stock opened at $93.51 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $106.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.99. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $96.06 and its 200 day moving average is $91.24. Starbucks Co. has a 12-month low of $71.55 and a 12-month high of $103.32.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.80. The firm 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.06 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Starbucks Co. will post 3.11 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Starbucks’s payout ratio is 73.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Starbucks

In related news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,452 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 approximately $6,503,747.36. This represents a 2.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks 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.