Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. Increases Stock Position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 42.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,992 shares of the coffee company’s stock after buying an additional 7,706 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $2,372,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Starbucks by 100.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,149,937 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,476,967,000 after acquiring an additional 7,598,146 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Starbucks by 55.0% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 1,466.3% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,350,932 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $260,870,000 after purchasing an additional 3,136,992 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 1,491.4% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,808,571 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $256,282,000 after purchasing an additional 2,632,087 shares during the period. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 2,329,431 shares in the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Starbucks Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of SBUX opened at $93.07 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $95.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $91.34. Starbucks Co. has a twelve month low of $71.55 and a twelve month high of $103.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $105.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.99.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $9.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.06 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Starbucks Co. will post 3.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.62%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Starbucks from $118.00 to $117.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays decreased their target price on Starbucks from $110.00 to $108.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. BTIG Research raised their price target on Starbucks from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Starbucks from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.77.

Insider Buying and Selling at Starbucks

In other news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.54, for a total value of $148,414.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 80,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,975,542.96. This represents a 1.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.