Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Boosts Position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 20.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,492 shares of the coffee company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,447 shares during the quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $775,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in Starbucks by 12.0% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 181,612 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $17,713,000 after acquiring an additional 19,406 shares during the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of Starbucks by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 468,505 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $45,675,000 after purchasing an additional 17,905 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Starbucks by 36.9% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 104,171 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $10,156,000 after buying an additional 28,103 shares during the period. Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new position in Starbucks in the third quarter valued at about $12,086,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Starbucks by 100.6% during 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 buying an additional 7,598,146 shares during the period. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Starbucks Stock Down 7.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $82.10 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $93.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.48, a PEG ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.00. Starbucks Co. has a fifty-two week low of $71.55 and a fifty-two week high of $117.46. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $105.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $99.36.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.01. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 44.97% and a net margin of 9.73%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.90 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 2.99 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.97%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SBUX shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target 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 boosted their target price on Starbucks from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wedbush lifted their price objective on Starbucks from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Starbucks from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $106.12.

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.