Cornerstone Advisors LLC Increases Position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Cornerstone Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 47,900 shares of the coffee company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,100 shares during the quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $4,670,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the second quarter worth about $25,000. New Millennium Group LLC acquired a new position in Starbucks during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Stephens Consulting LLC grew its stake in Starbucks by 498.2% during the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 335 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. 72.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Starbucks from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $80.00 to $76.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. UBS Group upped their target price on Starbucks from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Starbucks from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of Starbucks in a report on Monday, November 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.81.

Insider Activity at Starbucks

In other news, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp acquired 380 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 36,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,316,143. The trade was a 1.06 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,452 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.07, for a total transaction of $143,849.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 65,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,503,747.36. The trade was a 2.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Starbucks Trading Down 0.1 %

SBUX stock opened at $98.26 on Thursday. Starbucks Co. has a 1 year low of $71.55 and a 1 year high of $104.68. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $97.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $86.70. The firm has a market cap of $111.35 billion, a PE ratio of 29.69, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.97.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 46.39% and a net margin of 10.40%. The business had revenue of $9.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.06 EPS. Starbucks’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This is a positive change from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. 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.