Tower Bridge Advisors Increases Position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Tower Bridge Advisors raised its holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 43.7% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,391 shares of the coffee company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,640 shares during the period. Tower Bridge Advisors’ holdings in Starbucks were worth $526,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Riverview Trust Co increased its stake in shares of Starbucks by 3.4% during the third quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 3,199 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $312,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Essex Savings Bank increased its stake in shares of Starbucks by 1.6% during the third quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 7,250 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $707,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the period. DT Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Starbucks by 39.4% during 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. Childress Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Starbucks by 4.8% during the third quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,727 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the period. Finally, Keystone Wealth Services LLC grew its position in Starbucks by 1.3% during the third quarter. Keystone Wealth Services LLC now owns 10,151 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $990,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. 72.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Starbucks from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Wedbush lowered their target price on shares of Starbucks from $98.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $108.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Starbucks from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $85.00 to $118.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.81.

Insider Activity

In other Starbucks 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, with a total value of $34,770.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 36,242 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,316,143. The trade was a 1.06 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Stock Down 0.8 %

NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $98.42 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $111.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.97. Starbucks Co. has a fifty-two week low of $71.55 and a fifty-two week high of $107.66. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $96.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.26.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80. Starbucks had a net margin of 10.40% and a negative return on equity of 46.39%. The company had revenue of $9.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.06 earnings per share. Starbucks’s revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This is an increase from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.88%.

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.