Jennison Associates LLC Buys New Shares in Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Jennison Associates LLC bought a new position in shares of Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 8,336,826 shares of the coffee company’s stock, valued at approximately $817,759,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new position in Starbucks during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in Starbucks during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Starbucks during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Starbucks during the first quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new position in Starbucks during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on SBUX shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Starbucks from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $76.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective (up previously from $95.00) on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $95.00 target price (up from $85.00) on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Baird R W lowered Starbucks from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.85.

Starbucks Price Performance

NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $93.61 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $106.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.88, a PEG ratio of 4.74 and a beta of 1.02. Starbucks Corporation has a 1-year low of $72.73 and a 1-year high of $117.46. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $89.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $94.54.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The coffee company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.10). Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 42.14% and a net margin of 8.61%. The firm had revenue of $8.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.68 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Starbucks Corporation will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.61%. Starbucks’s payout ratio is currently 88.41%.

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.