Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 179,398 shares of the coffee company’s stock after buying an additional 764 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $16,370,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake 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 valued at $1,476,967,000 after buying an additional 7,598,146 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in Starbucks by 55.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,779,859 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,928,339,000 after purchasing an additional 7,015,375 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in Starbucks by 1,466.3% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,350,932 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $260,870,000 after purchasing an additional 3,136,992 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Starbucks by 1,491.4% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,808,571 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $256,282,000 after buying an additional 2,632,087 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 1,078.5% in the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 2,545,419 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $248,153,000 after buying an additional 2,329,431 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.54, for a total transaction of $148,414.14. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 80,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,975,542.96. The trade was a 1.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SBUX. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Starbucks in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Starbucks from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Starbucks from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered 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. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Starbucks from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Starbucks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.92.

Starbucks Price Performance

SBUX opened at $95.13 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $107.86 billion, a PE ratio of 28.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.99. Starbucks Co. has a 12-month low of $71.55 and a 12-month high of $103.32. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $95.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $91.71.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.80. The firm had revenue of $9.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.60 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 46.39% and a net margin of 10.40%. Starbucks’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.06 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.56%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.72%.

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.