Cerity Partners LLC Purchases 36,827 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 354,150 shares of the coffee company’s stock after buying an additional 36,827 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $34,526,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SBUX. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Starbucks during the second quarter worth $25,000. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new position in Starbucks during the second quarter worth $26,000. Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its position in Starbucks by 498.2% during the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 335 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the period. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in Starbucks during the second quarter worth $27,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Starbucks during the second quarter worth $31,000. 72.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Starbucks Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ SBUX opened at $102.50 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $116.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.97, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.97. Starbucks Co. has a 12 month low of $71.55 and a 12 month high of $103.60. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $97.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $87.10.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.80. The firm had revenue of $9.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.60 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 46.39% and a net margin of 10.40%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.06 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. This is a boost from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Starbucks’s payout ratio is 73.72%.

Insider Transactions at Starbucks

In other news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,452 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp bought 380 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $91.50 per share, for a total transaction of $34,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,316,143. This trade represents a 1.06 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on SBUX shares. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Starbucks from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $81.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Starbucks from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $80.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Starbucks from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Starbucks from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.81.

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.