Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Boosts Stock Position in Starbucks Corporation $SBUX

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 2.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,211 shares of the coffee company’s stock after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $752,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SBUX. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Starbucks in the first quarter valued at $1,379,619,000. Jennison Associates LLC bought a new stake in Starbucks in the first quarter worth $817,759,000. Polen Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Starbucks in the first quarter worth $503,539,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Starbucks by 59.5% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 9,623,282 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $943,948,000 after buying an additional 3,589,537 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Starbucks by 22.3% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 19,414,472 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,904,366,000 after buying an additional 3,545,655 shares during the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America raised their price target on Starbucks from $101.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Starbucks from $92.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Barclays raised their price target on Starbucks from $106.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $115.00 price target (up from $100.00) on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Starbucks from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $76.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Starbucks currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $104.00.

Starbucks Price Performance

SBUX opened at $86.72 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $87.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $88.69. Starbucks Corporation has a 1 year low of $75.50 and a 1 year high of $117.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.57 billion, a PE ratio of 37.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.15 and a beta of 1.01.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The coffee company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.14). Starbucks had a net margin of 7.18% and a negative return on equity of 36.23%. The company had revenue of $9.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.93 EPS. Starbucks’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Starbucks Corporation will post 2.99 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be paid a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. This is a boost from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. Starbucks’s payout ratio is presently 105.17%.

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.