Commonwealth Financial Services LLC Buys 531 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Commonwealth Financial Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 22.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,910 shares of the coffee company’s stock after buying an additional 531 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $266,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SBUX. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 100.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,149,937 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,476,967,000 after acquiring an additional 7,598,146 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Starbucks by 55.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,779,859 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,928,339,000 after purchasing an additional 7,015,375 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Starbucks by 1,491.4% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,808,571 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $256,282,000 after acquiring an additional 2,632,087 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its position in shares of Starbucks by 1,078.5% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 2,545,419 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $248,153,000 after acquiring an additional 2,329,431 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new position in shares of Starbucks in the third quarter worth $126,574,000. 72.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of SBUX stock opened at $108.16 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $122.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.89, a PEG ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 1.00. Starbucks Co. has a fifty-two week low of $71.55 and a fifty-two week high of $110.34. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $96.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $93.61.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.01. Starbucks had a net margin of 9.73% and a negative return on equity of 44.97%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Starbucks Co. will post 3 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued 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 yield of 2.26%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is presently 78.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on SBUX shares. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on Starbucks from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Wedbush increased their price target on shares of Starbucks from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Starbucks in a report on Friday, January 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Starbucks has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $105.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Starbucks

In related news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.54, for a total transaction of $148,414.14. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 80,124 shares in the company, valued at $7,975,542.96. The trade was a 1.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.