Synergy Asset Management LLC Acquires 4,109 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Synergy Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 181.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,372 shares of the coffee company’s stock after buying an additional 4,109 shares during the quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $599,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dakota Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 0.5% during the third quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 55,793 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $5,439,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Weil Company Inc. grew its position in Starbucks by 31.2% during the 3rd quarter. Weil Company Inc. now owns 34,580 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $3,371,000 after purchasing an additional 8,222 shares during the last quarter. Maia Wealth LLC increased its stake in Starbucks by 69.1% during the 3rd quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 18,582 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,805,000 after purchasing an additional 7,596 shares in the last quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Starbucks by 48.5% in the third quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 30,422 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $2,966,000 after buying an additional 9,936 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Investment Management Corp of Ontario lifted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 48.6% in the third quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 37,584 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $3,664,000 after buying an additional 12,300 shares in the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SBUX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic reissued a “sell” rating and set a $77.00 price target (down previously from $84.00) on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Starbucks from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Citigroup upped their price target on Starbucks from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. BTIG Research boosted their target price on Starbucks from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $105.52.

Insider Transactions at Starbucks

In other news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 80,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,975,542.96. This represents a 1.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Stock Up 8.1 %

SBUX opened at $108.58 on Thursday. Starbucks Co. has a 52 week low of $71.55 and a 52 week high of $110.08. The company has a market capitalization of $123.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.80, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.99. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $95.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $92.89.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.01. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 46.39% and a net margin of 10.40%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.90 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Starbucks Co. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.72%.

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.