Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. Buys 27,428 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. lifted its holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 30.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 116,797 shares of the coffee company’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,428 shares during the quarter. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $10,658,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Starbucks in the fourth quarter worth $1,244,812,000. Capital World Investors increased its position in Starbucks by 20.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 54,924,230 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $5,011,796,000 after acquiring an additional 9,174,682 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Starbucks by 27.0% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,128,649 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $2,292,989,000 after acquiring an additional 5,348,790 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 167.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,690,198 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $519,230,000 after acquiring an additional 3,563,942 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Starbucks during the 4th quarter worth about $284,283,000. 72.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Starbucks Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $85.57 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $88.15 and a 200 day moving average of $96.50. The company has a market capitalization of $97.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.99. Starbucks Co. has a 52 week low of $71.55 and a 52 week high of $117.46.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The coffee company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.10). Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 44.97% and a net margin of 9.73%. The company had revenue of $8.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.68 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 2.99 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is currently 88.41%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Argus upgraded Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Wedbush raised their price target on Starbucks from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Starbucks from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $103.00 to $85.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Starbucks from $103.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Starbucks from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Starbucks has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $98.72.

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.