Eagle Asset Management Inc. Buys Shares of 493,520 Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Eagle Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 493,520 shares of the coffee company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,143,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SBUX. Quent Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Starbucks by 9.6% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 4,389 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $401,000 after acquiring an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Starbucks in the 1st quarter valued at $136,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 18.8% in the 1st quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 147,695 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $13,498,000 after buying an additional 23,326 shares during the period. London & Capital Asset Management Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. London & Capital Asset Management Ltd now owns 402,640 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $36,797,000 after buying an additional 14,670 shares during the period. Finally, Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 34.6% in the 1st quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,510 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,783,000 after buying an additional 5,010 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SBUX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Starbucks from $118.00 to $117.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. BTIG Research boosted their price target on shares of Starbucks from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $108.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Baird R W raised shares of Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Wedbush reduced their target price on shares of Starbucks from $98.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.81.

Insider Buying and Selling at Starbucks

In related news, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp purchased 380 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $91.50 per share, with a total value of $34,770.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 36,242 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,316,143. This trade represents a 1.06 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,452 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.07, for a total transaction of $143,849.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 65,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,503,747.36. This represents a 2.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Stock Performance

SBUX stock opened at $102.50 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $97.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $87.00. The company has a market capitalization of $116.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.97, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.97. Starbucks Co. has a 52-week low of $71.55 and a 52-week high of $103.60.

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

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.61 dividend. This is an increase from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Starbucks’s payout ratio is 73.72%.

About Starbucks

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.