Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Grows Stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise lifted its stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 79.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,000 shares of the coffee company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,394 shares during the quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $2,730,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Starbucks in the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new position in Starbucks in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its stake in Starbucks by 498.2% during the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 335 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Starbucks in the second quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Starbucks in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Trading Down 2.0 %

SBUX stock opened at $98.35 on Wednesday. Starbucks Co. has a 12 month low of $71.55 and a 12 month high of $105.47. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $97.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.62. The stock has a market cap of $111.45 billion, a PE ratio of 29.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.97.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.80. Starbucks had a net margin of 10.40% and a negative return on equity of 46.39%. The company had revenue of $9.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.06 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This is a boost from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Starbucks

In related news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,452 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.07, for a total transaction of $143,849.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 65,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,503,747.36. This represents a 2.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp purchased 380 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $91.50 per share, for a total transaction of $34,770.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 36,242 shares in the company, valued at $3,316,143. This represents a 1.06 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on SBUX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Starbucks from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Baird R W raised shares of Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $85.00 to $118.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Starbucks from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Starbucks presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.81.

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.