Park Avenue Securities LLC Acquires 9,901 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 21.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 56,654 shares of the coffee company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,901 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $5,170,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kathmere Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Starbucks by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 2,550 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $233,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Starbucks by 1,491.4% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,808,571 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $256,282,000 after acquiring an additional 2,632,087 shares during the last quarter. Rockland Trust Co. lifted its position in shares of Starbucks by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 285,774 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $26,077,000 after purchasing an additional 10,425 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Starbucks by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 25,411 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $2,319,000 after purchasing an additional 2,489 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pines Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $250,000. Institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Stock Performance

NASDAQ SBUX opened at $93.08 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $105.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.12, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $95.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $91.34. Starbucks Co. has a 52-week low of $71.55 and a 52-week high of $103.32.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.80. The company had revenue of $9.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.60 billion. Starbucks had a net margin of 10.40% and a negative return on equity of 46.39%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.06 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Starbucks Co. will post 3.11 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.62%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Monday, November 11th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Starbucks from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Starbucks from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Starbucks from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Starbucks currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.77.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Starbucks news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 80,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,975,542.96. This represents a 1.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.