Prospera Private Wealth LLC Buys New Position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 3,152 shares of the coffee company’s stock, valued at approximately $307,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Riverview Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Starbucks by 3.4% in 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 last quarter. Essex Savings Bank boosted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 1.6% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 39.4% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,727 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Keystone Wealth Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Keystone Wealth Services LLC now owns 10,151 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $990,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp purchased 380 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $91.50 per share, with a total value of $34,770.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 36,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,316,143. This represents a 1.06 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,452 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.07, for a total transaction of $143,849.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 65,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,503,747.36. This represents a 2.16 % 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 insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Starbucks from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $80.00 to $120.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Starbucks from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $80.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Starbucks from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Starbucks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $92.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $118.00 to $117.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Starbucks has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.81.

Starbucks Price Performance

SBUX stock opened at $98.26 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $97.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.70. The company has a market capitalization of $111.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.97. Starbucks Co. has a 12 month low of $71.55 and a 12 month high of $104.68.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.80. The business had revenue of $9.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.06 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This is an increase from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.48%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is 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.